I don’t know about you all, but traveling tends to throw me out of my normal routine. It’s hard to stick with regular eating patterns, workouts, and bedtimes while exploring exciting places and experiencing new cultures. I do my best to listen to my body in these situations, but I also allow myself to go to bed late, try local cuisines, and skip a few (or a lot) of my morning runs! Well, after spending much of 2018 traveling to different places such as Bali, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, and in total being knocked out of my normal habits for a little over 4 months, I have needed a complete reset to get back to feeling like myself again.
In order to get some sense of normalization back, especially as I was thrown right into the holidays, there are a few tried-and-true tricks I live by which always seem to help me feel more grounded, focused, and ready to take on my next adventure. (Even if that is just getting to stay home for longer than a week!) Coming home is always made just a bit easier by following these steps, even if I am still foggy-headed from travel life!
Sitting cliffside overlooking Kelingking Beach on beautiful Nusa Penida Island, Indonesia.
Here are my five “go-to” rules to reclaiming my sanity when trying to settle back into every day life:
Settle In: Try and unpack as soon you possibly can to when you get home, even if that means throwing everything in the wash and putting your suitcase back in storage. I always find that waking up the day after traveling is so much better with clean laundry to put away, rather than a bag full of wrinkly, previously-worn clothing staring at me from my bedroom floor. As organized as I like to be when I leave for vacation, I am in no way a tidy packer when it comes to heading home. The majority of my clothing ends up rolled up in balls and trinkets are stuffed in whatever open pockets are left in my luggage in a mad dash to make it to the airport. So, taking the time to get my things even slightly more organized once I am at home helps to calm my brain and feel a little more control!
This act also helps me feel more “at home” in my little apartment. I know this may sound nonsensical as this is my HOME, but every time I return from an adventure I feel slightly more disconnected from my life in Seattle. I love the feeling of freedom and clarity I get while traveling, and tend to find myself bored and longing to be off wandering again in the days following my return. In taking the time to “move back in” a little after long periods away, it gives me a chance to reorganize things a bit and make it feel fresh again, instead of my old, worn one-bedroom. Don’t get me wrong, I love my apartment, but after a decade of returning to the same place, making it feel a little cleaner and new again always helps me feel much more settled.
Reconnect: Spend some time outdoors in your usual surroundings in the days following your return. It has been shown that exposure to daylight can speed up the recovery process from jet lag and help you adapt your your normal time zone once again. Putting your body back into the natural rhythm of your environment helps your circadian rhythm align as well, ensuring less sleepless nights while your brain is still functioning in on a schedule in a different city. Getting in some outdoor time can also help the transition from vacation brain by allowing you some time to relax and reset, sort of like a mini-mind-vacation, while you work on readjusting to your full-time routine.
For me, this also helps me remember to appreciate where I live again. Coming home from distant lands with stretches of beautiful blue sea is never easy, especially returning to a dreary, grey Seattle, but I often forget to take time to notice the beauty of my own city (I mean hey, other people vacation here, right?!). Getting out and exploring this concrete jungle with a new perspective always makes me a little happier to be home. Whether its discovering a new hole-in-the-wall sandwich spot or returning to one of my long time favorites, returning home is always sweeter when I realize I still have beautiful places to explore.
Stay Hydrated: Drink all the water! (Well, maybe not ALL of it.) Traveling can be seriously dehydrating. So many different factors go into this loss of water, including decreased H2O intake, consumption of alcoholic or sugary beverages, and increased perspiration when visiting warmer climates. Even the plane flights themselves can be dehydrating! This is due to the humidity of the cabin air being much lower than we typically find in comfortable, indoor environments.
Dehydration can mimic the symptoms of many common ailments associated with traveling, like food poisoning and other widespread diseases common in foreign countries. When I first visited Indonesia, I thought I had a pretty bad case of “Bali Belly” myself. But, after spending some time ensuring I was properly hydrated and listening to my internal cues, I adjusted nicely and was able to enjoy my time there without worries of feeling dehydrated and defeated upon my return home. Keeping our bodies hydrated is among the most important actions you can take to support your health, and keeping a bottle or glass of water with you consistently during your first few days home will help restore your bodies hydration levels, making for a speedy vacation recovery!
Rest: Make sure to get lots of sleep, and allow your body extra rest if it feels needed! I know it may seem silly, since you just spent an entire vacation “resting and relaxing,” right? But really, rarely do I have a day on vacation that I am not out exploring, shopping, hiking, or any other activity I can find in new locations! Sure there is down time, but what that entails is far from what I would call any sort of “rest” back home (think: playing on the beach, swimming in the pool, dancing at a local watering hole vs. Netflix binges). Many of us often return from traveling feeling fatigued, lethargic, and apprehensive to get back into our normal groove. Along with hydrating, as discussed above, resting is so very important for your health, as it is your bodies time to heal with rejuvenate.
This does not mean to get home and immediately crawl into bed for the next three days, but try and give yourself even a day before returning to work to give yourself some self-care. Take a bubble bath while listening to one of your favorite albums or podcasts. Get out a coloring book and surround yourself with crayons and colored pencils. Put on your most comfortable pajamas and your favorite childhood movie. Take a NAP. Take time for YOURSELF. I promise, you wont regret it. There will always be time to get back to the hubbub of every day life tomorrow (or maybe the next day..). Now is the time to recharge so you can return as lively and productive as ever.
Nourish Yourself: This part is SO crucial - and the most important in my line of work! Traveling can seriously deplete your nutrient stores, and leave your body deprived upon the long trip home. “Vacation eating” tends to lead to consuming a diet that may not be the best for us and leave us feeling malnourished. So, it is important to fill your diet with a variety of whole foods and balanced meals to ensure you are supplying your body with everything it needs to cultivate health. Try to find easy things that are easy to prep and use multiple times for a few days until you are back in the swing of things. This can help you ease back into your normal routine, without causing stress or strain on you otherwise.
So many people think that they need to diet after returning from vacation or complete some juice cleanse or restrictive detox, but this can only worsen the effects of the vacation diet. Things like smoothies and juices can be a wonderful way to increase your nutrient intake, but use them in addition to other whole foods/meals to really help your body get back on track. Load up on fiber-rich fruits and veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats, and do not forget to include a source of fermented foods such as kraut, yogurt, or ACV that will not only help your immune function, but also aid in digestion and help support your gut’s normal flora. By including all these types of foods in each meal, you will be fully supporting your body on its road back to normal health.
This advice also comes in handy when trying to get back to a normal routine after events such as holidays or particularly stressful occurrence. With the New Year beginning and resolutions being set, getting yourself into the pattern of eating this way can help you reach your goals faster than you ever imagined. True nutritional health comes from building long-standing habits, rather than relying on quick fixes.
Remember, there is no miracle cure that will immediate get your right back to where you were before your time off from your regular routine. However, these steps should make the process much easier. Remember to take your time and ease back into “real life.” I know, it can ramp right back up the minute you walk in the door, but it is important to let both your mind and your body readjust after these sort of excursions! Plan ahead to ensure the most success. The more your anticipate your recovery plan after your return, the more likely you will be to stick with it!
Happy reseting!
