Americans travel more than 11 billion miles a day — a number that I contribute to. This experience means I’m intimately familiar with how taxing travel can be on the body. Some days, it can feel difficult (if not impossible) to maintain your current health routine while on the road.
That said, travel shouldn’t be an excuse to let your health fall by the wayside. The added stress of travel could be devastating to your metabolic health, which makes it even more important to keep your focus.
If you don’t believe me, look at the statistics: cardiovascular disease is already the leading cause of death for international travelers.
The last thing I want is for you to become another number.
So let me share some information about maintaining your heart health while traveling.
Easy ways to protect your heart while traveling
It can take years to change the trajectory of your heart health. That said, we know little decisions add up, and ultimately make the greatest impact on our hearts.
For many Americans, this includes habits as we travel.
I’m going to share a few of my suggestions for taking care of your metabolic health while traveling.
1. Get your movement in
Exercise matters whether you’re actively traveling or have already arrived at your destination.
Remember: sitting down for long periods of time can risk deep vein thrombosis. This puts pressure on your vessels and forces your heart to work harder than it needs to.
Too much travel to keep a normal gym routine? Believe me, I understand the feeling.
So I wrote a guide covering four ways to strengthen your heart if you don’t have much time to exercise. The quick highlights:
- You don’t need expensive equipment
- You don’t need multiple hour-long blocks
- You don’t have to be standing up to exercise
I recommend short walks as an easy way to get started. Leg lifts work well if you’re sitting in place, while calf raises can be helpful if you’re standing in place for a long time.
I cover more specifics in the article itself.
But to summarize: please don’t use travel as an excuse to give up. Not in your workouts, and not in your diet. I want you to be aware of the risks and possibilities so you can more efficiently protect your metabolic health.
And speaking of diets…
2. Watch what you eat
Choosing to consume high levels of processed food could negatively impact your heart health over time.
Yes, I realize that travel is exhausting, both physically and mentally. You can’t always plan for meals, pack what you’d usually eat, or find something that matches your diet at the hotel continental breakfast. But I also know it’s easy to start or reinforce certain habits whenever you’re out of our usual routine.
And making a point to put your heart first will benefit you long into the future.
So while I’m on the road, I follow three rules of thumb:
- I eat whole, real food
- I limit carbs and sugar
- I only eat if and when I’m hungry
Some days, I fast on travel days. Other times, I feast. Because I follow a carnivore diet, this could be a breakfast of bacon, butter, eggs, and a latte with heavy cream. Or, if I’m simply not hungry, I’ll fast until I reach my destination.
3. Avoid alcohol
This goes without saying if you’re driving a car. But if you’re planning on flying, this is doubly important.
Remember: alcohol is not your friend. Even while on the ground, drinking alcohol can significantly raise your risk of atrial fibrillation and high blood pressure.
But if you’re diagnosed with heart disease or have preexisting risk factors, drinking alcohol while in the air could potentially push you over the edge. Studies show that in-flight alcohol could significantly lower your blood oxygen level and increase your heart rate.
The better option is simply to opt for water. As we know, staying properly hydrated can provide substantial benefits to your metabolic health.
4. Prioritize sleep
It’s easy to cast your sleep by the wayside when rushing to destinations or working within a tight schedule. But regularly traveling on late nights and early mornings, not to mention jet lag, could put you increasingly at risk for chronic disease.
I know you can’t necessarily help the lack of sleep in all circumstances. But again, if you’re a routine traveler, you’ll want guardrails in place to help avoid potential problems before they get worse.
I recommend:
- Getting sunlight in your eyes in the morning. This can help regulate your biological clock and ensure you sleep more soundly.
- Limiting your caffeine intake. Studies show caffeine can disrupt your circadian rhythm by delaying the body’s melatonin production. Incorrectly paired with jet lag, this could cause significant sleep problems.
- Setting a minimum/maximum range for your sleep. If possible, plan the bulk of your trip around your sleep schedule (not the other way around). Most people find seven to nine hours per night is enough. But tacking on an extra hour may be helpful if you’re expecting to be seriously jet lagged.
Additional resources for heart health protection
Whether you’re traveling for the holidays or are a career road warrior, I genuinely hope you take some of these suggestions to heart.
You may never know how much these ‘little decisions’ impact your heart but from what the research tells us, they could substantially increase your healthspan.
The most successful path to this outcome is establishing sustainable habits you can rinse and repeat anywhere, including on the road.
And if you’re already thinking about resolutions for the coming new year, check out my guide on New Year’s resolutions for better metabolic health.
