healthy bytes: surviving summer holidays

What are your summer holiday plans?

Whether you’re camping at a music festival, jetsetting to Europe or returning to your hometown, summer holidays should not be a holiday from your health! Party hard, kiss whoever you like, laze the days away – but keep in mind these age-old tips:

1. Use protection.

By protection I mean: sunscreen, condoms, travel insurance. I think we can all agree that beaches are awesome, sex is awesome and cheap trips are awesome. But no matter how much fun you’re having, sunburn, STIs and lost passports are NOT WORTH IT. If you’re organised you won’t have to worry about these things at all.

2. Drink water.

With the amount of sun, salt and alcohol that comes with summer holidays, it’s easy to become dehydrated. There is much speculation about how much water we should drink every day, but the sensible thing to do is drink when you’re thirsty. This means packing a water bottle for the beach; setting aside a portion of your festival budget for Mount Franklin; asking a local where the drinkable water is if you’re in a foreign city.

3. Relax.

This point probably sounds like a no-brainer, but in the fuss of family Christmases, airports and festival crowds sometimes it’s difficult to take a moment to yourself! Make sure you do something for you this summer. Read a book, take a walk that doesn’t need to lead anywhere, keep a travel diary that doesn’t even have to mention the sights you see.

What are your health tips for summer holidays?