Glossy graduate recruitment adverts trying to attract the country’s brightest and best often list frequent travel as one of the perks of the job. But for people who spend much of their lives on planes, nights spent alone in hotel rooms and hours in airports can make business travel more of a chore than a pleasure.
We speak to five business people for advice on how they cope with spending most of their lives away from home. Below, Professor Michael Bagshaw, director of aviation medicine at King’s College, London, gives his top 10 tips for frequent travellers on staying healthy and stress-free.
The prepared packer
Sarah Dembitz works as an events organiser for the branding agency IncrediBull Ideas. She travels all over Europe organising events, for up to 1,200 delegates, that can last for 10 days. Last September, she had only three nights at home. “To cut down on the amount of time I spend packing and unpacking, I have one set of toiletries packed and ready to go.” Being away so much, she often has to miss out on celebrations with friends. “Keeping in contact with my friends by phone or instant messenger is really important to me,” she says.
Fit for purpose
Nicole Bremner is the managing director of Brittique, an online clothing retailer. She is often away from home for a month at time, travelling to Milan and Paris. If she has any spare time, she spends it wandering around town admiring the architecture or visiting a gallery. “The hardest thing about travelling frequently is sticking to a healthy diet and exercising frequently.” She says she tries to book into a hotel with a gym and exercise first thing in the morning.
Keep it varied
Iain Smallridge is the managing director of Pearl Motor Yachts. He travels around the world, visiting the company’s dealerships, and is frequently in Turkey, where the company’s manufacturing division is based. He says he always tries to fly out the night before a meeting: “It gives you time to prepare and time to relax and arrive refreshed,” he says. Even though he travels frequently to the same destination, he varies airlines, hotels, restaurants and bars, to keep things interesting. But he never gets too experimental with hotels, sticking to the big chains: “You want something clean, comfortable and familiar,” he says.
Light and easy
South-African born Andrew Robinson quit his job in the City of London and now sells Sipahh Straws, a milk-flavouring device. He spends two weeks of every month in London, one week in South Africa and usually another week in another African country. Robinson is the epitome of the light traveller: “I only take two or three days’ worth of clothes and extra cash to pay for cleaning, or I buy whatever I need.” He travels everywhere with a goose-down pillow to ensure he can always sleep. Despite spending so much time on the move, he still enjoys travelling: “I think I’m lucky to be able to visit so many countries and meet so many fascinating people.”
Keep the noise down
Peter Armstrong flies all over the world in his job as a business strategist for BMC software. “The best investment I’ve made in the past two years has been to buy some noise-cancelling headphones. I can now hear, and actually enjoy, inflight films,” he says. He eschews working on planes or in airports: “I think that time is best used to recharge your batteries.” Business travellers should leave their laptops at home, he says: “It forces you to be properly prepared and reduces your stress levels.” He also suggests taking time out to see more than the inside of a hotel room: “You are travelling all that way on the company’s expense - it’s a shame not to make the most of it.”
Professor Bagshaw's top 10 tips for healthy travel:
1. Just because you travel frequently, don’t become blase about the details. Always make sure you have adequate travel insurance, so if something goes wrong you are not also nursing a huge medical bill.
2. Remember, the most stressful part of travelling is the time spent at the airport. Make sure your itinerary allows you to arrive in plenty of time for your flight, so you do not have to rush.
3. Do not worry about breathing the same air as the hundreds of other people sitting on an aircraft with you. Air on planes is cleaned using the same filters as are used in hospital operating theatres. However, it is important to be scrupulous about washing your hands frequently, because many people will be touching the same things as you.
4. The risk of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) - blood clots that form in the legs and can then travel around the body to cause a heart attack - increases with long periods of immobility, whether that is sitting on a plane or on a bus. Compression socks can help, but make sure they are properly fitted; if they are too tight, they can cut off circulation.
5. Taking aspirin to prevent DVT can do more harm than good: it does not help to dissolve this kind of blood clot and can actually cause gastric bleeding.
6. The air on aircraft is very dry, so make sure you take moisturiser, eye-drops and lip balm with you. Apply them before getting on the plane so you have a protective layer in place.
7. Taking a short-acting hypnotic, such as temazepam, for a few days will help you to sleep and to adjust to a new time zone.
8. When you travel, try to get as much sleep as you would in a 24-hour period back at home, even if this means taking naps to catch up. If you do nap, try to sleep for either less than 45 minutes or more than two hours. Sleeping for less than 45 minutes will mean you don’t feel groggy when you wake-up, while two hours gives you some refreshing deep sleep.
9. Try to get some exercise while you are away, but don’t force yourself if you are too tired. A brisk walk or a swim are the gentlest forms of exercise.
10. If you are travelling west make sure you get some evening sun, if east then some morning sunshine – it will help your body clock to adjust.
