Traveling During Viral Outbreaks

Are you concerned about picking up a virus (e.g. coronavirus, zika, SARS, etc) while traveling these days? 😳

In this video I talk about the main things you can do to boost your immune system to help YOU put up a natural “super shield” of protection while traveling.

As with most things around health and wellness, prevention and knowledge are most important to assist your body to remain healthy.

A few suggested supplements (good quality) would be Echinacea, Andrographis, Oil of Oregano, Olive Leaf Extract, Vitamin D3, Vitamin A and of course LOTS of filtered (hopefully structured) water!

Take these NOW!

One positive of major virus scares is that it helps to shift attention to the importance (and challenges) of travel wellness which can lead to:

  • Lost productivity
  • Burnout
  • Sick days due to illness
  • Lack of sleep
  • Jet lag
  • Eating the wrong foods

Book John to speak at your next event or meeting to show your participants how to manage stress as they travel so that they can be at their best – either for business or leisure!

Sleep Experts Share The Tips They Swear By

Love this advice on sleep!

I’m a big fan of #10 as I’m not the best at sleeping on a plane. I call this going into “suspended animation”.

We all deal with sleepless nights from time to time ― and yes, that includes experts like sleep doctors.

Though having trouble falling (or staying) asleep can be distressing, it may be comforting to know that it’s a common problem. According to a 2016 Consumer Reports survey, 68% of Americans struggle with sleep at least once a week.

“It’s perfectly normal for all of us to have poor sleep or insomnia, but it becomes more of an issue for people that begin to become anxious and fixated on their sleep,” Ruchir P. Patel, medical director of the Insomnia and Sleep Institute of Arizona, told HuffPost. “Remember, if you have a bad night here or there, it’s normal. The more you stress about your sleep, the less it will return back towards normal.”

We asked sleep doctors to share the tips, tricks or other advice they follow when they personally have trouble sleeping. Some you can implement during the day as preventive measures; others you can try on a sleepless night.

1. They don’t look at the clock.

“When I am up in the middle of the night, I try my hardest not to stare at the clock because clock watching is an easy way to have anxiety about the sleep loss and make the insomnia worse.” —Raj Dasgupta, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine

2. They listen to soothing music.

“I will listen to Max Richter’s ‘Sleep’ in the background, as this is very unique classical music where he worked with neuroscientists to create music utilizing tones that can help to relax the mind and assist with sleep. My wife and I also use it for our 15-month-old baby since he was born and [it] has helped him too.” —Patel

3. They try to find some enjoyment in quiet, cozy time in bed.

“I have learned to enjoy being awake in my bed. It’s a pleasure to have quiet, comfortable time to reflect, plan, muse and simply be present. When you treat the situation as ‘a living nightmare,’ as one patient put it, you’ve already lost the battle.” —W. Chris Winter, president of Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and author of “The Sleep Solution

4. They remind themselves that they can always sleep in on the weekend.

“It helps me to not worry that I did not sleep well last night or that I’m tired today.” ―Patel

5. They don’t look at their phone.

“I try my hardest not to grab my cellphone because once I open my phone, I’m suddenly answering emails, checking my Instagram and watching ‘The Mandalorian’ on Disney+.” —Dasgupta

6. They move to another room and read something dull.

“If ultimately I have a very difficult time initiating sleep (greater than 30 minutes), then getting out of bed and going to a different part of the house, using dim light and reading something boring on paper can help to distract my mind that I have not fallen asleep. Then, I return to bed as soon as I get drowsy.” ―Patel

7. They try not to take a sleep aid if they can help it.

“I generally do not take anything for sleep as it is a slippery slope. It’s very easy to become accustomed to taking something to ‘help me sleep.’” ―Patel

8. But if they really need it, they take a small dose of melatonin.

“Rarely, I have taken melatonin, 3 to 5 mg as needed.” —Anupama Ramalingam, sleep medicine physician at the Insomnia and Sleep Institute of Arizona

9. They go outside in the morning.

“Bright light exposure can be accomplished by going for a walk or having breakfast outside on a sunny day, or by using a light therapy box for 30 minutes.” ―Stacey Gunn, sleep medicine physician at the Insomnia and Sleep Institute of Arizona

10. They focus on resting rather than sleeping.

“I know that restful meditation is a restorative process, much like sleep. Unlike sleep, resting is something I have complete control over. I choose to focus on what I can control.” —Winter

11. They make time for exercise during the day.

“To help with sleep, I get at least 20 minutes of exercise a day, whether it’s just me on the elliptical at the local gym or the whole family taking a walk outside or at the park.” ―Dasgupta

12. They tell themselves it’s not a big deal if they have a night of poor sleep.

“I keep reminding myself that it is OK if I don’t get enough sleep tonight and that it’s not the end of the world. This helps me to not get worked up, which in turn is going to take you longer to fall asleep. I also journal my thoughts, which helps.” —Ramalingam

13. They avoid sugar and caffeine later in the day.

“I try to eat smart before going to bed, which is not easy at all. I love junk food and Sour Patch Kids, but as a general rule I try to avoid high carbohydrate meals and things with lots of sugar or caffeine.” —Dasgupta

14. They create their own bedtime rituals.

“It starts two hours before bedtime and includes putting technology away, reading books to my children, keeping the rooms quiet [and] cool, and turning down the lights. Happy and calm kids usually translate into better sleep for me.” ―Dasgupta

 

From HuffPost

Alcohol on Business Trips!

What can you do to help your body if a little too much alcohol has appeared on your trip?

Alcohol just seems to show up when we travel – whether it’s business or leisure.

I know from experience how one glass of wine suddenly turns into several bottles at the table for a business dinner, and that’s OK!

The “Balance” part of Travel Balance is that it’s OK not to eat (or drink) perfectly all of the time.

In fact, if you are mostly healthy, and not trying to fight off some type of infection (cold, flu, etc), then I typically recommend that you try to eat as healthy as possible about 80% of the time and enjoy eating foods and drinks (without guilt) the other 20%.

In the video I talk about the best ways to help your body balance and process alcohol.

If you’d like a copy of my top 3 travel wellness tips (along with a sample packing list) – go HERE and type TRAVEL (no opt-in required).

Book John to speak at your next event or meeting to show your participants how to manage stress as they travel so that they can be at their best – either for business or leisure!

Make Wellness A Priority At Your Annual Event!

I’m so excited to see C-Suite executives make Wellness, Stress Management and Mindfulness a top priority in their companies!

Thoughts from one of my CEO clients:

“We invited John in to speak to our entire team during our annual meeting and 20th anniversary celebration. His session was a favorite among the group. It was extremely informative, fast paced and interactive. John could have stayed for an additional hour or two answering our team’s questions. I would highly recommend him for any type of meeting, especially when you are trying to show your team that you truly care about their well-being and overall health.”

Are you planning your company’s annual meeting and looking for a way to incorporate these ideas into your event?

Burnout and high stress in companies is BIG these days, and has a HUGE impact on employees – especially sales reps.

As a Natural health practitioner and 25+ year IBM sales rep/trainer, I provide a unique perspective on how Wellness (especially when traveling) can help BOOST your sales by helping your team operate at their highest level.

I led a team that closed the largest software deal in the history of IBM ($1B) and know personally how stressful sales can be!

I went through a long process to get my health back and would be honored to share with your team.

Let me show THEM how to stay energized, healthy and balanced (especially when traveling) so that they can give their best to YOU!

If you’d like a copy of my top 3 travel wellness tips (along with a sample packing list) – go HERE  and type TRAVEL (no opt-in required).

Book John to speak at your next event or meeting to show your participants how to manage stress as they travel so that they can be at their best – either for business or leisure!

 

What is a naturopath anyway?

So, what is a naturopath anyway?

You may have heard of other natural health practitioners like chiropractors, acupuncturists and certainly massage therapists, but may not be familiar with naturopaths.

We learn a little bit about a variety of different natural health modalities, and are like natural health consultants to help you learn the best ways to help your body heal!

As I often tell my clients “Only YOU heal you!” – we all just help.

This is one of the biggest lessons I learned during my personal journey back to health: It is MY responsibility!

We pay doctors and practitioners to be on our health team and to share their best advice. But, in the end, YOU have to make the decisions on the best way for your body to heal itself.

As you pursue your health journey, I hope you’ll consider checking out the variety of integrative practitioners who are available to help you.

 

If you’d like a copy of my top 3 travel wellness tips (along with a sample packing list and other valuable documents) – go HERE  and type TRAVEL (no opt-in required).

Book John to speak at your next event or meeting to show your participants how to manage stress as they travel so that they can be at their best – either for business or leisure!

I also work with individual clients worldwide if that is of interest.

 

Looking for a Fresh Speaker for Incentive and Sales Kick-off Events?

Are you looking for a fresh topic for your upcoming Sales Kick-off or Incentive events?

We are reading quite a bit about burnout in the news and the impact that it can have on employees – especially sales reps.

As a 25+ year IBM sales rep and trainer, my presentation will provide a unique perspective on how Wellness (especially when traveling) can help BOOST your sales by helping your team operate at their highest level.

I had an opportunity to lead a team that closed the largest software deal in the history of IBM ($1B) and know personally how stressful sales can be!

I went through a long process to get my health back and would be honored to share with your team.

When your sales team doesn’t feel their best, it’s difficult for them to give their best – and that hurts your business.

Let me show THEM how to stay energized, healthy and balanced (especially when traveling) so that they can give their best to YOU!

Send me a message so we can schedule a few minutes to discuss your event.

 

If you’d like a copy of my top 3 travel wellness tips (along with a sample packing list) – go HERE  and type TRAVEL (no opt-in required).

 

Book John to speak at your next event or meeting to show your participants how to manage stress as they travel so that they can be at their best – either for business or leisure!

 

Airplane Water Is Dirtier Than You Think

One of the best things you can do for your health (especially when traveling) is to drink lots of filtered water.

I highly recommend bringing a bottle on the plane with you and only getting it refilled from a plastic bottle. I ask for “2 cups of water with no ice” and refill my bottle throughout the flight.

Please  be aware of this information with regards to coffee and tea on a plane – NOT your best option!


You may want to think twice before ordering coffee or tea on an airplane ― or even washing your hands with the lavatory water.

A new study from Hunter College’s New York City Food Policy Center and the not-for-profit organization Diet Detective raises concerns about airline water quality. The 2019 Airline Water Study ranks 11 major airlines and 12 regional airlines based on the quality of the galley water.

So How Does This Affect Travelers?

The report confirms what previous studies have shown: You should not drink airplane water.

Flight attendants pour drinking water from bottles, but airlines still use galley water in the coffee and tea they serve. Passengers also come into contact with it when washing their hands or even taking a drink from the sinks in the lavatories.

Airplane coffee has come under fire in the past due to other concerns about container cleanliness and even coffee maker-induced flight delays. Platkin advises travelers to steer clear of tea and coffee, particularly on those airlines with the lowest water scores.

“I also don’t wash my hands in the lavatory anymore,” he noted. “I make sure to have sanitizer. If you wash your hands in what could potentially be unsafe water, it sort of negates the whole process of actually washing your hands. You could be spreading E. coli all over… Sure, it’s not likely, but why should you take any chance?”

Full Article

Is the Sun Really Harmful for You?

You definitely want to avoid sunburn, but it turns out that there are some major benefits to getting sun exposure on your bare skin – not the least of which is helping your body create an amazing hormone that we tend to be very deficient in these days (see video)!

Sunlight also helps to reset your body’s circadian rhythm, very helpful when traveling across multiple time zones!

Your body has evolved to be in synch with the cycles of the planet, but advancements in technology (e.g. jet travel, electricity) have caused us to lose harmony with these cycles: flying around the world, staying up with electronics when we should be sleeping, etc.

How can you change that?

Travel well.

If you’d like a copy of my top 3 travel wellness tips (along with a sample packing list) – go HERE  and type TRAVEL (no opt-in required).

 

Book John to speak at your next event or meeting to show your participants how to manage stress as they travel so that they can be at their best – either for business or leisure!

 

 

How Not to Get Sick While Traveling (+ How Chia Seeds Can Help)!

So honored to have my work highlighted in a Blue Zones interview!


We’ve all been there: you wake up on the first full day of your much-anticipated beach vacation with a sore throat and runny nose, you are on a business trip and arrive at your first meeting with a pounding head, or you touch down from your fun vacation and immediately get laid up with a cold.

Whether it’s for business or pleasure, we’re all traveling more than ever according to a global study by the World Tourism Organisation. Stateside, overseas travel has increased by over 170% in the last 20 years, thanks in part to the rise of travel planning online. Business travel spending is expected to reach $1.7 trillion by 2022, which seems to be a reflection of the overall global economy. As a company, Blue Zones was founded by explorers, researchers, and journalists, and we all spend many days on the road.

For help with staying healthy on the road, we turned to John Ayo, a healthy travel expert and keynote speaker who is the author of Travel Balance: Where Healthy Travel Drives Greater Business Profitability. John spent 30+ years traveling around the world for IBM, and he has spoken to thousands of people in dozens of countries on how to stay sane and healthy while traveling. He also consults with businesses and organizations that want to keep their employees healthier and happier.

He shared his inside secrets to reducing stress on the road:

 

Blue Zones: How did you go from a corporate job to being a travel wellness guru?

John Ayo: I had a long, successful career at IBM. I led the team that closed the biggest software deal in the company’s history for over $1B. There was a period there that I was on the road a lot, wasn’t fulfilled, was constantly sick and in pain, and could never get any sleep. I had it all: sinus infections in Tokyo, digestive trouble in Mexico, and the flu in London. And then I still had to go and do my job.

I went to countless doctors and had so many scans and tests and no one could figure out what was going on. They mostly said it was in my head.  I finally went to chiropractors, acupuncturists, and alternative therapists and started feeling better. I’m an engineer by trade, and my problem-solving brain kicked in. I was still working, but I went back to school to get a doctorate in naturopathy.

Towards the end of my time at IBM, I was leading a sales class in 26 countries and was constantly flying and on the road. But I had learned how to stay healthy and energized while traveling, which is why I wrote Travel Balance.  It is incredible how much healthy travel affects productivity and the bottom line. That was of interest to businesses, of course, and that’s how I started consulting and speaking about travel wellness. I’m an engineer with an MBA and an ND (Doctorate in Naturopathy), so I can connect with corporate audiences.

BZ: It’s refreshing to hear that corporations are interested in keeping their employees healthy, even if it is for productivity.

JA: It’s a win-win. If you improve employee health and reduce travel sickness, you increase productivity and reduce absenteeism. Business travelers lose an average of 6.9 hours of productivity due to stress, and they’re also at risk of losing overall productivity due to frequent work travel. My advice also applies to the leisure world, of course. Travel is better when you aren’t sick or exhausted from lack of sleep.

BZ: So what are some of the things companies can do to help their business travelers?

JA: The first thing is awareness, so the first step is getting wellness on the radar. The second is education for both individuals and their employers. How do we reduce traveler friction? The three important pieces of advice I give businesses are:

1 Book employees into decent hotels.

It doesn’t have to be luxurious, but it should be clean, safe, and comfortable so that they can get a good night’s rest.

2 Education on wellness travel for employees.

I give some of the tips below for corporations to use in their HR and employee materials.

3 Policies that allow employees to upgrade to business class on flights over 8 hours.

This last one is a little harder because it actually costs money. But the cost-saving strategy of putting one of your employees in a middle seat from the United State to India will probably not pay off if they have to get off the plane and perform for your company.

People regularly quit their jobs because of cost-saving measures like this. And that is a huge cost to companies—much more than the class upgrade or the domestic seat with extra legroom.

 

BZ: What can individuals do to stay healthy while on the road?

JA: Stress is one of the worst things for your immune system. In daily life and especially in travel, it’s not just one thing that affects stress levels. It’s many things. So it’s important to reduce the stressors where you can.

1 Wear Noise-Canceling Headphones on the Plane

Engine traffic on the plane is a major stressor for your body and mind. There have been countless studies on the effects of noise on stress and the immune system, and also studies that show that pilots wearing noise-canceling headphones have increased alertness and lower stress.

So canceling out the ambient noise during your flight is a good practice.

2 Eat and Drink Your Water!

Drink a lot of water before, during, and after flights because planes are so dehydrating. Also, eat your water through fruits and vegetables! Fruits and vegetables are made up of mostly water and are more hydrating than just plain water because they are made up of structured, or gel, water. Chia seeds can also absorb water and convert it into structured / gel water, so putting those in your water bottle or smoothie is a good practice to start. Like eating fruits and veggies, this hydrates at the cellular level. A big bonus is that chia seeds, fruits, and vegetables are also full of antioxidants and other health-promoting properties that will help your immune system.

3 Avoid These Foods When You Start to Feel Sick

When you start to feel rundown or get that telltale scratchy throat, immediately start avoiding as much sugar, dairy, and wheat as you can. This will cut out a large portion of inflammatory and processed foods from your diet so that you’re sticking to healthy whole foods.

4 Use Aromatherapy to Help Calm You Down

Smelling plant oils stimulate receptors in the nose that send chemical messages to the brain. These messages affect our mood and emotions and help us relax. Common essential oils for travel that people find helpful are lavender, lemon, chamomile, and peppermint. Lavender and chamomile are useful for stress relief and relaxation, peppermint helps with vertigo and nausea, and lemon oil helps as a mood-booster.

You can dilute the oils and spray them around your seat (they also help to block other unsightly smells!) or tap a few drops onto your travel pillow or hotel room sheets and bedding.

Anything else that can relax you by tapping into your senses is useful, as well. For example, if calming music helps you sleep or relax, then listening to that on a flight or before sleeping in a new place can help.

5 Make Sleep a Priority

The reason it’s hard for most people to sleep in hotel rooms, besides a time difference, is that your body is on high alert. So you have to make it feel safe and relaxed. Keep your phone six feet away from you and don’t use it before you sleep. Keep your room cool and dark, use essential oils or calming music, and take a warm bath or shower before trying to sleep.

If you’re going up against a big time difference and will need to deal with jet lag, however, you will do better in the long run for overall sleep if you stay awake until 9 pm on your first two nights. Also, as soon as you step onto the plane or get in the car for a road trip, put your mindset and your clock to the time at your final destination. Then eat and sleep according to that time.

 

BZ: Fascinating tips, thank you! You’ve been ahead of the curve in terms of advocating for wellness for business travelers, but any new trends that you think our readers should know about?

JA: The big story is that travel wellness is the biggest new thing in the tourism industry. Baby boomers want to travel to wellness destinations or have wellness be a component to their vacations because they are at retirement age—and now they want to focus on their health.

The best thing is prevention though, and Millenials get it. They have seen their parents stressed out and suffering and they won’t tolerate it. They will often just quit. Now Millennials are moving to executive positions, which I predict will be a great thing for workplace wellness policies.

 

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