Lack of downtime a stress factor while travelling.

Some degree of stress when travelling on business is inevitable, and simply a fact of life accepted by most business travellers. Often, so is unhealthy food and lack of exercise opportunities.

It does not have to be, says Brenda Stankiewicz, a public health nurse with the Sudbury and District Health Unit. Personal life coach Anne Vincent of Balance on Purpose Consulting in Timmins agrees.

In fact, with a few techniques to relieve stress and a few healthy food choices, one can drop the level of stress on the body easily.

"When it comes to stress, we really are our own stress-control boards," says Stankiewicz, adding stress is often "a matter of perception." Controlling it is often as simple as asking, 'How important is this in the long term and is it worth stressing out over?"

A lack of downtime while travelling on business can add stress to one's life, says Vincent.

"Probably one of the biggest contributions to stress is people do not build in enough time for self care," says Vincent. "They arrange their first meetings in the morning and end up going well into the evening. There's no time for exercise or getting adequate sleep. They come back exhausted and they're usually coming back in the middle of the week so they have to catch up to the work they missed while they were away. There's no downtime."

The effects may range from simple muscle tension to headaches, queasiness and "not feeling well or not feeling like one's self," says Vincent.

"I would say it's an even more significant issue for women than men because women are frequently juggling household responsibilities as well as work," she adds. "From what I have seen, men don't have as much difficulty taking time for themselves to go golfing or that sort of thing. Women often feel guilty if they are not always busy. It's equally important for men and women to take care of themselves."

Stress relievers include stretching exercises, meditation, whatever works for the individual.

"When people are travelling, they're out of their normal routine, which makes it an issue to remember to be physically active and eat well," says Stankiewicz. "Chances are, if you're not home, you're going to be eating in a restaurant and you have to try and remember to choose lower fat alternatives. You have to remember to try and fit physical activity in; you have to ask yourself where and how to fit that physical activity in."

Stankiewicz says there are things people can do and should do to keep limber if travelling by plane, bus or train.

"Basically, people should just keep moving," she says. "If you think about it, our bodies are designed to be physically active. Cavemen had a life of constant physical activity, picking low-fat berries or occasionally eating raw meat, which they had to catch. Nowadays, we travel everywhere by car or we're sitting at our desks."

If on a plane, Stankiewicz recommends people get up and move around from time to time just to keep the blood flowing. Even stopping the car from time to time while on a road trip is beneficial.

Stankiewicz recommends people take a cue from Hollywood.

"Do you ever notice that, when people are talking about something important in movies or on television, they're often walking someplace?" she asks. "Of course, for movies and television, action is important. Most of the time, people don't think about it. But why not, when you've got a meeting, pick them up and go for a walk rather than sitting at a desk and having a discussion. It's something that can be done if it's a small group of two or three people."

Stankiewicz has a few simple recommendations for healthy food choices while travelling. The first is to simply lay off the burgers and fries and make a few healthier choices because by consuming these high-fat foods one is simply eating calories that otherwise are not going to be used and get stored in the body as fat.

"In reality, most places you go to are going to have a store so why not pick up a bunch of grapes or a pack of baby carrots?" she says. "They can be put on the seat of your car or put in the fridge overnight ..."

By ANDREW WAREING

Northern Ontario Business