It’s hard to be healthy while on the move.

For consultants on a cross-country redeye, pilots on a four-day trip, or parents taking three fidgety monsters to visit their grandparents in the Poconos, it’s easy to forget about self care.

The good news is that we can do something about it.

There are fundamental principles, accumulated over the course of a decade, that we focus on in order to maintain a fun, busy, active life, without sacrificing wellbeing.

Of course, like the habits mentioned in Stephen Covey’s classic book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, some take longer than others to get right. 

But, as with all hard-but-good-for-you things, making an effort will ensure making progress.

Let’s get to it.

Habit #1: Get good sleep

Sleep is essential, yet it’s often the hardest thing to get right especially if a trip involves sleeping in a tent in the desert with music blasting and various hallucinogens on the daily menu (feel the burn).

In a past article we talked about some of our favorite gadgets for sleeping well in planes, trains, and hotel rooms. This simple sleep mask is Geremy’s go-to.

For the gadget-less, use Justin’s makeshift approach: pop in some noise-canceling earphones and drape a soft long-sleeve shirt over your eyes. 

As Justin often says, “It’s not a beauty contest.”

Habit #2: Keep your head 

One of the biggest travel challenges is the lack of predictability and tendency for things to go wrong. 

A flight gets delayed, the kids are crying, or the airline forgot the vegetarian meal. In these in-flux moments, we can be deliberate about focusing on our breath, scanning our body, and feeling the ground underneath us. In other words, we activate the parasympathetic system.

There are many ways to be mindful, present, and calm. We prefer meditation, and especially find apps like Headspace or Sam Harris’ Waking Up useful in a pinch.  

But you don’t have to be the Buddha to improve your mood-a.  

Some simple deep breathing can help—in through the mouth, pause, then exhale slowly through pursed lips. With more time and money, perhaps a quick teletherapy session is in order. We also find journaling, listening to music, going for a quick walk, and thinking of things we appreciate are great ways to stay centered and calm, even in the face of travel chaos. 

Ohhhhhhmmmmmm.

Now now that we have a calm head, it’s time to use it.

Habit #3: Activate your brain

At airfare HQ, we’re big believers in keeping our minds engaged, even while traveling. We like to read, write, listen to podcasts and books, watch interesting movies or documentaries, or maybe do crossword puzzles. 

Research shows that staying engaged can help maintain mental health, which goes double if we’re able to reach the vaunted, time-stopping state of flow. 

Speaking of flow...

Habit #4: Practice hourly hydration

Our bodies get dehydrated faster than we realize during travel, especially when on a plane. Dehydration can lead to problems that undercut the other habits on this list like diet, mental acuity, and sleep.

Our solution is to keep a water bottle on hand all the time—even for short stints away from home or the hotel. Research shows that simply having water nearby reminds us to drink.

Habit #5: Move your body

There is one no-fail hack that will instantly improve Habits #1, #2, #3, and #6. Exercise.

Repeat after us: Find. Time. To. Move.

Even when travel life gets busy, create even a bit of time for physical movement, ideally to the point of sweating—usually 20 minutes or so.

Simply moving our bodies helps us sleep better, eat healthier, become more mentally engaged, and remain more present. It’s the core habit at the root of all-around improvement.

There are plenty of ways to get exercise when traveling. One of our favorites is to use the series of free workouts from airfare friend Krista Stryker, the 12-Minute Athlete.

Whether a walk, hike, bike ride or swim, make time to move.

Habit #6: Eat whole, plant foods

We all know that most food options at airports are awful. This is the initial reason we started airfare.

The same trend appears on airplanes, at convenience stores and in hotel lobbies. Still, there are some tried and true ways to keep things nutritious.

The most effective method is to plan ahead. It takes some extra work and time, and it’s worth it. Pack some easy foods like fruits, raw veggies, hummus, bars, and nuts, along with your favorite snacks.

Another pro move is to scope out menus ahead of time to find the best stops with the healthiest options.

And of course, relying on the airfare Airport Survival Guide always helps.   

Habit #7: Seek out support

Finally, when it’s clear a difficult period will stress our habits, it’s important to use all our tools. Lean on all the people, services, gadgets and methods available . We’ve mentioned tricks for sleep, exercise, hydration, and meditation.

One way to get support while traveling is to lean on us. For road trips, flights, hiking the mountains or hitting the beach, our snacks will make it easy to feel good on the go.

Now go hit the road, and stay healthy.