Summer is meant for soaking up sunshine and taking advantage of days off for adventure and travel. With the busyness of summer, it can be easy for your focus to shift toward your plans and away from health and wellness. Whether you’re planning a drive to the beach, a road trip across the country, or just adventures in your own backyard, there are a few things to keep in mind to help you focus on total wellness for a healthy summer.
Hydrate
Remember to drink plenty of water, even if you don’t necessarily feel thirsty. Summertime means sunshine, which means warmer weather, which means more sweating and the loss of both water and electrolytes. You need to be replenishing both. Electrolytes like sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium, chloride, and phosphate help your body regulate chemical reactions and fluid levels within your body. If you’re low on electrolytes, you can experience symptoms like muscle cramps, dizziness, and fatigue.1 In addition to drinking water, look for electrolyte drinks that include most, if not all, of the ones listed above, but stay away from the popular sports drinks that include added sugar. In addition, fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of water, like watermelon and cucumbers, can help replenish your body’s hydration. You can even infuse these in water to give your hydration an added flavor boost.
Sunshine
Exposure to sunshine is the biggest way our bodies get vitamin D — which is important in preventing chronic diseases as well as improving bone health and immune system health. But it’s important to note that you can get too much of it, especially if you’re not protecting yourself with sunscreen. Since the summer months mean plenty of time spent in the sunshine, make sure to wear sunscreen to protect yourself from some of the sun’s rays. In addition, limit afternoon sun exposure if possible, as the sun’s rays are strongest from about 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Don’t forget that surfaces like sand and water can reflect UV rays, and they can also go through clouds. Too much sun can result in sunburns and skin damage, eye damage, premature aging, and skin cancer.
Eating Healthy
Summer can be an easy time to fall prey to poorer food choices. Being on the go and a lack of meal planning can result in eating out and reaching for fast, easy, and oftentimes unhealthy snack options. Preparing snacks, especially when going on trips, will help you stick to healthier options and also save money by not loading up on spur-of-the-moment decisions at convenience stores. Fast food and convenience store options are often unhealthy, highly processed, and contain synthetic dyes and other unhealthy chemicals. Plan on bringing snacks like nuts, meat sticks, and dried fruit to help satiate hunger. While the dehydrated version of fruit doesn’t include the all-important hydration that fresh fruit does, it is still a healthy option that provides the fiber and other nutrients of the fruit while being a longer-lasting, more travel-friendly option.
If you’re sticking around home, plan for lighter meals that include fresh fruits and veggies that are in season. Lighter, cooler meals are more ideal than hot meals in the summer, as hot meals increase your body temperature and can make you more uncomfortable on those warmer days.
Exercise
Summer is the perfect time to get back into an outdoor workout routine, especially for those who live in places where it gets cold in the winter. Focus on getting in various types of workouts to ensure that one particular body part, muscle group, or system isn’t overworked at the detriment of another. For example, if all you do is cardio, you won’t work all of your muscles. If you only weightlift, you won’t strengthen your cardiovascular system. Doing both cardio and strength training ensures that both systems are trained and strengthened. If you can get a workout in in the morning, that helps take advantage of your body’s circadian rhythm when your blood sugar is naturally highest so it helps manage blood sugar regulation. Along with exercise, remember to do stretching, which helps reduce the likelihood of soft tissue injuries and inflammation.
Healthy summer travel routines
For many of us, summer is full of travel! If you keep on top of health routines, most of these things can be fairly easy to work into your travel to ensure a healthy summer. To stay hydrated, keep a water bottle with you at all times as a reminder to keep drinking water. When traveling, schedule time to be in the sun but also activities indoors or in the shade to rest and recuperate. Bring those healthy snacks so you don’t fall into the unhealthy fast food or convenience store snack trap. Exercise can be done anywhere. Many hotels have gym equipment, but even if you’re staying somewhere that doesn’t, get in a short workout of body weight and abdominal exercises, which can be done with no equipment at all. Movement like air squats, push-ups, planks, and abs exercises can all be done without equipment or with the use of a chair or couch for leverage or accessibility.
When it comes to your vitamin or medication routine, bring along tools that will help you organize and remember to take them.
- Zipper case pill organizer. Keep medications or vitamins secure inside this on-the-go case. It helps you stay organized with managing daily medications and has a convenient built-in mirror.
- Foldable travel pill organizer. What’s better than a product that works perfectly for what it’s made for? One that can be used for other things, too! With 11 individual compartments, this pill organizer can be used for your vitamins or medications, jewelry, wireless earbuds, other small personal items, or a combination of these.
- Silicone jars. This is another item that can be used for many types of items. It can hold medications, creams or lotions, earplugs, and more. It’s even BPA free and made of food-grade silicone.
While summer’s focus is often on travel, outdoors, and fun, a little planning and intention can go a long way in ensuring your family’s health and well-being don’t fall to the wayside during this busy time. By prioritizing important aspects of your health like hydration, sun safety, eating healthy, exercise, and smart travel habits, you can focus on total wellness for a healthy summer. Prepare with these tips and you can be ready for whatever your summer brings.
References
Cleveland Clinic Electrolytes. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/21790-electrolytes
