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Travel Tip Tuesday #17: The Importance of Staying Hydrated while traveling (Healthy Travel Tips)

Jeremy B
WHY STAYING HYDRATED WHILE TRAVELING IS SO IMPORTANT - travel tip tuesday 17

Water. We need it. Our bodies crave it. And when we don’t get enough of it, our bodies start to protest. Dehydration is extremely unpleasant. Now, throw in a little air travel and you have the perfect recipe for a travel horror story.

This week’s Travel Tip Tuesday Post is about water and specifically about staying hydrated when traveling.

It’s also something I personally struggle with. So, this week’s post is as much advice for you, my faithful reader, as it is a personal indictment! 🙂

Did you know we are focusing on healthy travel tips this month? Yep. For the entire month of May we are providing healthy travel tips in our weekly Travel Tip Tuesday series! Last week we touched on the importance of working out – and specifically, working out before dinner. You can read all of the preceding Travel Tip Tuesday’s here.

Why this Travel Tip Tuesday hits home

I will be the first to tell you that water doesn’t get me excited. Seldom do I find myself going “You know what would hit the spot right now? A big glass of boring plain, tasteless water!”

Water is Boring. There. I said it. 

Yeah, I just don’t fancy it. Sure, my body craves it like everyone else’s, but I don’t get excited about it. I have to force myself to drink it because, well, it’s just plain boring.

And when I travel, it’s even harder. Confession #2…as a man now in his mid 40’s I spend a fair amount of my time in the bathroom. This is the curse of most men (and especially prominent for men in my family).

So, when I am traveling I really don’t want to take 3 trips to the lavatory on a 3 hour flight. Thus, I tend to avoid drinking too many liquids in general when traveling – and water often gets cut.

If you need me, I will be in line for the lavatory again. 

Not ideal!

But, I am working on it.

The Importance of Staying Hydrated While Traveling

Staying hyradated (whether traveling or not) is a key part of staying healthy. WebMD.com notes that “About 60% of your body weight is made of water. You need it for every single body function. It flushes toxins from your organs, carries nutrients to your cells, cushions your joints, and helps you digest the food you eat.”

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If you don’t get enough water, you can become dehydrated. A dehydration is not good. Dehydration can increase the chances of you getting jet lagged when you travel while weakening your immune system.

You might be interested in: How to get over jet lag while you travel – 11 Jet Lag Tips for every traveler

The same WebMD article notes that

“…the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends a total of 13 cups (about 3 liters) of fluid — period — each day. For women, they suggest 9 cups (a little over 2 liters) of fluid — total — each day. Pregnant women should drink about 10 cups of water daily. Those who breastfeed need about 12 cups. If you’re outside on a hot day, or doing something that makes you sweat a lot, you’ll need to drink more fluids to stay hydrated. The same is true if you have an illness that causes you to throw up, have diarrhea, or run a fever.”

Common belief is that 8 cups of water a day will do the trick – and honestly, it’s not a bad marker to follow. But always balance it with your current hydration levels.

How to know if you dehydrated? Check your urine. The darker yellow your urine is the more water you need. The lighter yellow the more hydrated you are. 

Drinking water while traveling is a key part of staying healthy. You’ve got to make it a part of your routine. Many airports now offer water refilling stations on the other side of security. Bring a portable water bottle with you and fill up once you get through security.

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This will also save you some money because we all know how expensive items are at airports.

$4.50 for a bottle of water? I’ll take the jet lag…

So, on your next trip, do your best to stay hydrated. Drink some extra water. Maybe skip the soda at lunch and drink that free ice water. Or ask the hotel for a bottle (they will usually give you one if you have any sort of status with them), and bring a water bottle with you.

Speaking of water bottles  you might enjoy this funny article about the world’s most expensive water bottle (seriously…who has this kind of money…)

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Insomuch as it relates to healthy travel, I’d encourage you check out these other articles we’ve written about healthy travel:

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Thanks for tuning in to Travel Tip Tuesday again

Thanks for tuning in this week! Please check back each Tuesday for a new travel tip. As noted in the intro we are focusing heavily on healthy travel this month.

By the way, we’d love it if you’d follow us on social media including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Or, join the conversation and leave us a comment below, too. We love comments.

For readers interested in more travel tips and travel advice, you might be like these great articles:

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