Editor’s Note: This article is based on Episode 019 of Unstuck to Finding Your Edge, my weekly Substack Live series with Robyn Levin. This week brought two of our worlds together: health, longevity, and travel. We asked a practical question: How do you continue taking care of yourself when you’re away from your normal routine?
At home, taking care of yourself can feel relatively straightforward.
You know what you eat, you know where you exercise, and you have your bed, your schedule, your groceries, and your routines.
Then you travel.
You sit on an airplane for hours.
Meals happen at strange times.
Your sleep schedule changes.
Your gym isn’t there.
You might cross several time zones before you even reach your destination.
Suddenly, the wellness routine you carefully built doesn’t fit your life anymore.
Maybe it doesn’t need to.
The goal of traveling well isn’t to recreate your life at home in a hotel room.
→ The goal to decide which habits matter enough to bring with you.
When your environment changes, simplify the routine instead of abandoning it.
Start Before You Leave
A healthier travel day can begin before you ever reach the airport.
One of the first things Robyn and I discussed was hydration.
→ Instead of waiting until you’re sitting on the airplane to think about water, pay attention to hydration leading up to your trip and continue drinking regularly throughout your travel day.
Another habit I came to appreciate during my years working as a flight nurse?
→ Compression socks.
Long periods of sitting can contribute to leg swelling and discomfort, and compression socks may be useful for some travelers on longer flights.
If you use them, consider putting them on before heading to the airport rather than waiting until you’ve been sitting for hours.
They aren’t appropriate for everyone, and the right compression level matters.
→ If you have circulation problems, cardiovascular conditions, peripheral artery disease, or other medical concerns, talk with your healthcare provider before using them.
The point isn’t to create an elaborate pre-flight health protocol.
It’s simpler than that: Don’t wait until you feel terrible to start taking care of yourself.
Make The Travel Day Work For You
Airports make it remarkably easy to spend an entire day sitting.
At the gate.
At a restaurant.
On the airplane.
Waiting for your connection.
However, an airport is also a giant place to walk.
If you’re able, walk to your gate instead of taking every available shortcut.
Take the stairs.
Explore the terminal during a long layover.
Get up periodically during a long flight when it’s safe and practical to do so.
You don’t have to call any of this a workout.
→ It’s movement built into a day that could otherwise involve hours of sitting.
The same approach works with food.
If you can pack foods or snacks that work for you, great. Solid foods are generally permitted through TSA checkpoints, although restrictions can differ for liquids, gels, international travel, and your destination.
→ If you need to buy something at the airport, make the best choice available.
And if the choices aren’t great?
Eat what you need and move on. (Don’t overeat)
One airport meal does not determine your health.
Dress For The Travel Day You’re Actually Having
One of my personal travel habits is wearing Dri-FIT or similar moisture-wicking clothing to the airport.
→ It’s practical.
Travel days involve walking, carrying luggage, standing in security lines, sitting for hours, and moving between wildly different temperatures.
I’d rather dress like I’m prepared to move.
→ Robyn also pointed out another benefit: lightweight clothing can mean lighter luggage.
You don’t need to dress exactly like I do.
Just pack for the experience you’re actually going to have, not only for how you want to look when you arrive.
Use What’s Already There
Your normal workout routine may not travel with you.
→ Movement can.
Maybe your hotel has a gym. Use it.
No gym?
You still have your body, gravity, the floor, stairs, and whatever happens to be outside the hotel door.
A few squats.
Push-ups.
Yoga.
Laps around the hotel.
A 15-20 minute bodyweight workout.
Planks and wall-sits.
Or forget the formal workout altogether and go explore.
Robyn told me she commonly walks 15,000 to 20,000 steps a day while traveling!!
That’s one of the wonderful things about visiting somewhere new.
Walk through the city.
Explore a museum.
Visit a market.
Hike.
Walk along the water.
Take the stairs on the cruise ship.
And if your hotel or resort offers a pool, walking trail, sauna, yoga, or another wellness amenity you genuinely enjoy, use it.
However, you don’t have to collect wellness activities like vacation merit badges.
→ Wellness doesn’t need to become another itinerary you have to complete.
Use what works. Leave the rest.
Be Careful With The Wellness Shopping List
This was an unexpected, but important part of our conversation.
Travel wellness can quickly become another excuse to buy things.
Supplements.
Powders.
Electrolytes.
Protein drinks.
Sleep aids.
Special travel products.
And suddenly “taking care of yourself” requires an entire second suitcase.
It doesn’t.
Supplements can be useful in appropriate circumstances, but more isn’t automatically better.
→ A recommendation from a friend or social-media post also isn’t the same thing as knowing whether something is appropriate for you.
→ If you’re concerned about a nutrient deficiency or considering a new supplement, that’s a conversation worth having with an appropriate healthcare professional.
Don’t let wellness marketing convince you that you need a cabinet full of products just to be healthy.
The basics travel remarkably well.
Your Travel Wellness Anchors
If your usual routine disappears the moment you leave home, don’t try to rebuild the entire thing.
Keep some anchors.
1. MOVE
Walk the terminal.
Explore on foot.
Take the stairs.
Use the hotel gym.
Do a short workout in your room.
Movement doesn’t have to look the way it does at home to count.
2. EAT
Pack a few foods or snacks that work for you when you can.
Make reasonable choices when they’re available and eat the local food.
One unusual meal, late dinner, or airport sandwich isn’t going to undo your health.
3. HYDRATE
Start before the airport.
Keep water nearby throughout the travel day and continue drinking regularly once you arrive.
Bring an empty water bottle with you through TSA that you refill with water once past security.
Simple and easy to forget, but worth remembering.
4. SLEEP
Travel may disrupt your normal sleep schedule.
Protect your sleep where you reasonably can, without expecting every night away to look like a perfect night at home.
5. ENJOY THE TRIP
Yes. This belongs on the list.
You’re allowed to rest.
You’re allowed to skip a workout.
You’re allowed to stay up later because you’re somewhere extraordinary.
You’re allowed to eat something because it’s delicious and you may never have the chance to eat it there again.
→ A vacation shouldn’t become a health optimization challenge.
Health should support your life, not prevent you from experiencing it.
Just Stick To The Basics
Toward the end of our conversation, Robyn asked me for one final piece of advice.
Mine was simple:
→ “Just stick to the basics.”
Your environment will change.
Your schedule will change.
Your food will change.
Your sleep may change.
That’s travel.
You don’t need to drag your entire routine across the world with you.
→ Keep a few anchors.
Then go experience the place you traveled all that way to see.
→ You don’t need a perfect wellness routine when you travel.
You just need a few healthy habits that know how to travel with you and that you’ll actually do.
In This Episode
In Episode 019 of Unstuck to Finding Your Edge, Robyn and I bring together two of our favorite subjects: longevity and travel.
→ We talk about preparing for long travel days, compression socks, airport food, staying active on the road, Dri-FIT clothing, hotel workouts, walking while exploring, sauna and wellness amenities, supplements, and the growing world of wellness travel.
→ Robyn also shares how she stays active while traveling and some of the destinations and experiences she’s seeing emerge at the intersection of luxury travel and wellness.
→ For more on health, longevity, and becoming an active participant in your well-being, follow NP Fellow Become the CEO of Your Health.
→ For more on personally vetted destinations, standout stays, and places worth discovering, follow Robyn at Rare Finds – Luxury Travel.
↑ Replay Above
Resources From This Conversation
Follow Jess at NP Fellow Become The CEO of Your Health →
Follow Jess at Nurse in the Market →
Follow Jess at Unstuck to Published →
Follow Robyn at Finding Your Edge →
Follow Robyn at Rare Finds - Luxury Travel →
Scan Robyn’s QR code to access her Youtube channel →
Thank You
Thank you so much for everyone who tuned into this live, your presence is truly appreciated, and to the people who are watching the replay, thank you!
See you next Friday at 12pm ET for our weekly show, stay tuned!
-Jess, The Creator & Robyn Levin
