5 Tips to Keep Your Family Healthy on Holiday

A guest post in collaboration with Insurancewith 

Regular rules get thrown out of the window when you’re on holiday. You’re in a new place, discovering new things, and every day is different. As a consequence, the little steps you normally make to take care of you and your family’s health tend to be at the back of your mind. Fortunately, there’s a way you can balance your well-being and all the fun you’ll be having while you’re away — follow these five tips to keep your family healthy on holiday and you’re all bound to reap the benefits.

1. Take any dietary requirements into account

One of the most fun things about travelling is trying completely different cuisines and discovering new favourite foods.

However, you need to be cautious if you have particular dietary requirements. If you or a family member are a vegetarian or vegan, or have a food allergy, it’s worth looking up the phrase for ‘no meat/fish/nuts’ (for example) so you can be clear about your needs even if there’s a language barrier.

If you have diabetes, it’s important to take the climate and the cuisine of your destination into account, since they can have an effect on your blood glucose levels. Insurancewith also recommend finding out which foods contain the carbohydrates your body needs so you can adjust your diet accordingly.

2. Pack snacks

Hungry people are unhappy people, so keep snacks in your bag in case anyone needs a bite to eat in between meals.

The best portable healthy snacks:

• Mini packets of wholegrain crackers or (non-sugary) popcorn

• Trail mix (it may be worth experimenting with combinations at home to find something your       little ones like — nuts, dried fruit, seeds and dark chocolate chips are all tasty ingredients)

• Apples, bananas, grapes, satsumas, and any other whole fruits which aren’t too messy to   transport 

Pack wet wipes to clean up sticky fingers and don’t forget to bin any wrappers when you’re done.

3. Stay active

This is often easy to do on holiday and shouldn’t take too much planning, leaving you to concentrate on enjoying yourself.

Chances are you’ll spend a lot of time exploring your destination, playing on the beach and swimming in the sea or pool — you’ll be exercising without realising it.

More adventurous families might enjoy trying activities such as snorkelling, climbing or aerial rope courses, especially if you’re travelling with older children and teenagers.

4. Drink lots of water

According to Harvard University, drinking fluids maintains the function of every system in your body, so its importance cannot be understated. Water is beneficial for your heart, brain and muscles, plus it carries nutrients to your cells.

Generally, health experts recommend drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day. However, it’s extra vital to stay hydrated when the weather is hot because you’re more likely to sweat, losing fluid more quickly. Take enough water for everyone if you’re heading to a destination where there’ll be plenty of sunshine.

If the tap water is safe to drink, you could give everyone their own refillable bottle to carry with them for the duration of the holiday. If it’s better to stick to bottled, make sure you stock up from a nearby supermarket — multi-packs are often better value for money than individual bottles.

5. Get plenty of sleep

Long, sunny evenings mean bedtime gets pushed back, but even so, it’s important to make sure everyone gets enough sleep.

Lack of sleep can lead to grumpiness, fatigue, stress and a lack of focus. On a more serious note, the NHS point out that lack of sleep can also put you at risk of serious medical conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. In contrast, getting the right amount of sleep (approximately eight hours for adults, nine and a half hours for teenagers and up to 14 hours for children) can boost your immunity and your mood.

You and your family will be able to figure out a way to balance holiday fun with spending enough time fast asleep.

Top Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Swimming Pool Photo by Jason Briscoe on Unsplash