Keeping my hormones balanced when I travel is huge for me. One, because my hormones tend to get unbalanced pretty easily, and two, because I travel a lot. Right now I live in Nigeria, so traveling pretty much anywhere requires 8-30 hours of travel, depending on where I’m going. I’ve lived overseas for the past 10 years and before I became dialed into my health and then became a health coach my hormones and overall health paid the price.
Travel across time zones is especially hard on women, due to the fluctuations of our hormones throughout our menstrual cycle. Our hormones, especially our circadian rhythm (sleep) and our adrenal gland hormones, which have to do with stress and anxiety, are impacted by travel. When one area of our endocrine (hormone) system becomes unbalanced it has a cascade effect and other hormones, such as our Thyroid hormone production, gets out of whack.
Besides the time zone changes and dietary changes, there are all the chemicals on airplanes that have huge impacts on our health and our endocrine system. But, there’s not a ton we can do about that, so do what you can to keep your hormones balanced with your diet and lifestyle.
6 Ways to Keep Your Hormones Balanced
Sleep
1. Sleep before and during travel is a key component to keeping your hormones balanced while traveling. Getting a good nights rest the night before you travel can start travel off on the right foot and help keep things balanced. Your circadian rhythm is directly tied to your hormones, so getting enough rest while you travel and listening to your body and its needs is essential. Your hormones will thank you for getting enough rest throughout your travels.
I always recommend sleeping with an eye mask, especially on the plane where light can mess with your ability to sleep, or if your hotel room isn’t dark at night. If possible, make sure your room is cool and then upon waking to expose yourself to direct sunlight. This will help modulate your hormones and can be especially helpful if you’re traveling outside of your timezone.
Hydration
2. Proper hydration is key to staying healthy and keeping your hormones balanced when you travel. Just how much water should you drink? Because travel is stressful and can be dehydrating, it’s important to drink enough water. Aim for half your body weight in water. You may need to alter this depending on your own needs, but it’s a good rule of thumb.
Travel can cause your bowel movements to slow way down, so drinking enough water is important to keep things moving. You may even want to bring along some ginger tea to help keep the process moving so to speak. Having regular bowel movements (1-3 per day) is necessary to get rid of estrogen, so if you don’t have a BM, you’re not clearing estrogen, which can lead to estrogen dominance.
Skip the coffee and the wine on the airplane, both will mess with your hormones, hydration, and ability to sleep. If you’re out for a long day, make sure to bring enough water. Your hormones will thank you for staying hydrated.
Snacks Snacks Snacks
3. I am a huge advocate of taking healthy snacks with you regardless of your mode of transportation. I know it can add a little extra weight to your carry on, but it’s worth it and your hormones will thank you. Having healthy snacks can keep you from grabbing fast food, or sweets. It’s a good idea to opt for sugar balancing foods to help keep your blood sugar balanced and your hormones happy.
Some of my favorite options are raw almonds, nut butter packets that you can just squeeze into your mouth, Primal Kitchen bars, string cheese or goat cheese depending on your dietary needs, cucumbers, hummus, olive packs, and jerky. The extra bonus to having snacks is that if you get stuck somewhere, you will have food.
My husband always laughs at the amount of food I take on our adventures, but more than a few times, he’s been grateful to have it when we didn’t make a flight or there weren’t any healthy food options.
Relax
4. Bottom line travel is stressful on our bodies and hormones. Air travel can be especially taxing on our adrenal glands, which equals stress and anxiety. Trips rarely go exactly as planned, so it’s good to have some relaxation techniques in your back pocket. If you get anxious when you fly, try listening to a guided meditation or listen to some relaxing music. This can help regulate your stress levels and help your hormones remain balanced.
Try wearing your eye mask while listening to a guided meditation and maybe catch some important zzzs, instead of watching movies. Deep breathing exercises can instantly reduce your stress levels and ease anxiety. If you’re waiting in an airport or your hotel, get a massage to help manage and reduce your stress.
Get Moving
5. Whenever I travel I always try to go for a walk in the morning or practice yoga. Both help me relax and have a clear head while lowering my cortisol levels. Yoga lowers your perceived stress and can really help a tired, tight body that has been stressed out by travel. Even a 10-minute walk or yoga session can make a big difference.
Don’t Skip Breakfast
6. Eating a breakfast that consists of protein, good fat, and fiber (PFF) is a great way to keep your blood sugar balanced throughout the day, thus helping keep your hormones balanced and happy. Eat a PFF breakfast based on your own dietary needs and bio-individuality. If you are eating full board, opt for an omelet with greens, goat cheese, and clean bacon or sausage. Or if you are staying in a rental, buy your own groceries and cook up your PFF choice of breakfast rather than grabbing coffee and bread at the nearest bakery.
I travel with specific supplements for my own health needs, but there are some supplements that can help everyone stay healthy on the road.
Some of my favorite supplements include:
Magnesium: magnesium is essential for travel. It can help you stay regular when away from home, it plays a role in stress relief, and aids in getting good sleep. It’s known as the relaxation mineral and it’s my number one supplement for summer travel.
B Vitamins: helps increase your energy and gives your immune system a boost.
Turmeric: is great for inflammation, achy muscles, and has a host of other health benefits so it’s an ideal choice for travel.
Chlorella: I bring chlorella for the entire family. If anyone gets travelers diarrhea it’s a great binder and it’s also good for your thyroid health.
Probiotics: I use probiotics daily and never go on a trip without them.
Travel is amazing, whether you’re going on an epic summer holiday or exploring closer to home. While it’s good to embrace your holiday and relax your daily routine a little (maybe have a croissant or cappuccino or two) you also want to keep your hormones balanced, so you don’t come home with raging perimenopause symptoms, increased menstrual cramps, bloating, fatigue or an overall sluggishness.
Remember to relax, stress less, eat healthily (most of the time) and get some movement every day. Your hormones will thank you for taking care of you. Happy travels!
I love hearing from readers and hope you found this blog helpful. Please let me know in the comments. If you think we would be a good fit for health coaching, check out my coaching options here.
Be sure to share this post with any woman you think might benefit from it and share on social media.
Follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more awesome period info and to see what I’m up to in Nigeria.
