Three Ways Business Travel is Impacting Your Health
It’s Monday at 4:30 am. Your alarm rings and you fling out of bed. Déjà vu strikes as you look outside into the darkness. Pressed for time, you quickly brew a coffee and slip into your suit. Before you know it, your car service is calling and you are out the door.
While riding to the airport, you scroll through your jam-packed calendar. You’re scheduled to take the red-eye and rush into the office for a day of back-to-back meetings followed by a same-day return flight.
The day flies by and you’re already headed back to the airport. As soon as you arrive at your gate, the dreaded announcement comes across the loud speaker - a three-hour delay. Your plans to cook dinner and hit the gym are destroyed. So much for starting the week off on a healthy note.
It’s no secret that business travel can be taxing on both physical and mental health. There is a body of research stating that frequent business travel is associated with poor health.
Here are three ways business travel is affecting your physical and mental wellbeing.
1. Increased stress levels
Jet lag is linked to anxiety, low mood, impaired judgment, and poor concentration. Dealing with trip preparation, security, flight delays, and cancellations are additional contributors to stress while traveling.
2. Decreased physical fitness and increased obesity rate
Several studies have demonstrated that business travel is associated with both a poorer self-rated health and increased physician visits. With less time to get in exercise and more time spent sedentary, physical fitness levels are at stake. In addition to decreased activity, fresh, healthy meals are not easy to come by while traveling. Additionally, increased alcohol and caffeinated beverage consumption are also factors when it comes to travel weight gain.
3. Weaker immune system
Being surrounded by dozens of people is just one threat to the immune system. The larger threat is the exhaustion caused by jet lag.
ROAM Fitness is working to put gyms in airports, behind security, so that travel days don't have to compromise our health. Business travelers passing through Baltimore airport (BWI) will soon be able to workout at our airport fitness center and rinse off in our showers. Finally there is a healthy option at the airport to help travelers combat the negative effects of air travel. We're working on expanding our facilities so that travelers across the country can exercise while traveling by fitting in an airport workout.