Stay Healthy as a Travel Nurse: 5 Simple Tips

Travel nursing is an opportunity to see the world and make money. It’s also a great way to explore new places and learn about different cultures. But like any job, travel nursing comes with its challenges. One challenge is staying healthy while traveling from place to place. It’s hard to find time to exercise, eat well and get enough sleep when you’re on the go. But to keep your immune system strong and minimize the risk of getting sick, you must prioritize health while traveling. Here are five simple tips that will help you stay healthy while traveling:

Eat Balanced Meals

To stay healthy and strong, you must eat balanced meals daily. This means eating lots of fruits and vegetables and lean protein sources like chicken and fish. Your meals contain whole grains for fiber (like quinoa) and healthy fats (like olive oil). Here are a few tips for maintaining a balanced diet:

• Eat breakfast every day.
• Eat a healthy snack before going out for the evening.
• Limit your intake of processed foods like cookies, chips, and candy.
• Stay away from fried foods like french fries and onion rings.
• Drink plenty of water and limit your consumption of sugary drinks like soda and juice.
• Eat more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
• Limit your consumption of high-fat meats like sausage, bacon, and hamburger.
• Choose lean cuts of meat such as chicken breast or turkey breast.
• Eat more seafood like salmon and tuna fish instead of red meat.

Stay Hydrated

For staying healthy while working, hydration is key. Drink plenty of water daily. It’s especially important when traveling. This will help flush toxins out of your body and energize you throughout the day. If you can’t get enough water from natural sources like streams or lakes, bring a reusable water bottle to fill it up anytime. (1)

Get Enough Sleep

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body doesn’t have the time to repair itself or recover from any damage it sustained during the day. Shift work or the stress of a normal day can play havoc with sleep cycles. This can lead to symptoms like fatigue, headaches, and insomnia. If you have trouble sleeping while traveling, try listening to white noise while you sleep (like ocean waves) or practicing relaxing breathing techniques before going to bed each night.

Exercise Daily

Exercise boosts your immune system and makes it stronger. It also helps your body release endorphins, chemicals that make you feel good. Try going for a walk in the morning or evening, or pack resistance bands to do some arm curls while on the road. (2)

Here are a few exercises you should do daily:

• Push-ups (or modified push-ups)
• Wall sits
• Squats
• Plank
• Yoga and Meditation 

It also goes without saying that you should complement daily exercise with regular health checkups. According to this dentist who does dental implants and teeth whitening in Midtown Manhattan, at the very least, you should visit a physician and a dental expert.

Keep a Positive Outlook

A positive attitude can help you cope with stress, reducing anxiety. Try to focus on the positive aspects of your job, like the opportunity to see new places or meet new people. If you’re stressed about traveling during work, consider doing something fun and relaxing before leaving home so you don’t feel exhausted at your destination.

Wrapping Up

With an active patient roster and an emergency always around the corner, it can be tough for many nurses to take a break from their schedules. As travel nurses, it’s hard to prioritize things they really should. Modifying your schedule every other month can be unsettling. We understand the pain. This is why we have curated a few tips to keep your health at the forefront during each assignment. Click here to know more about travel nursing.