Author: Travel Guruji

We live in a world surrounded by noise.  More the amount of noise intake every day greater the chance of damage done. In a world filled with news, social media, telephone calls, whats-app, emails it is quite difficult to tune into silence.  

In addition,  car horns, buses, loudspeakers add to the noise. Is this noise good or bad for our brain and overall well-being or should we make an effort to escape our noisy world and get some peace and tranquility?

What happens to the brain on noise?

Many researchers and neuroscientists have made some stunning revelations regarding the damage the noise does to our brain. According to one research noises first activate the amygdala, neurons located in the temporal lobes of the brain associated with memory formation and emotion.

 And these activation causes the release of stress hormones like cortisol.  Therefore, it can be observed that people who live in more noisy environments tend to feel more stressed.

Here are some reasons why periodic silence in our day to day lives can create a sense of well-being.

1. Sharpens the sensitivity in other areas

They say silence is golden.  The 10 day Vipassana meditation retreat is all about silence where participants are asked to refrain from reading, writing or eye contact.  Many people who went on that retreat noted that shutting off speech heightens sensitivity in other areas.

2. Revitalizes our brain

Many studies have found that silence helps to grow our brain. Studies have shown that silence helps in the folding of the cortex which helps in faster mental processing. Likewise, another study showed that silence helps in increasing the hippocampus area important for memory and learning.

3. Absorb Negativity

The body needs to let go of toxic materials every day to make us feel good. Therefore, we need to go to the bathroom or toilet on a daily basis. Similarly, the mind needs something to absorb the negativity that has accumulated throughout the day.  Silence helps us to absorb and remove the negativity.

Another thing silence does is it brings back our awareness to the present moment.  And that feeling of being alive in the present moment helps us to dissolve the negativity.

4. Strengthens Intention

From my personal experience, I can say that silence strengthens intention. That means silence helps us to have a more positive intention.

Very often people form negative intention by just inferring an event or an incident in a negative way without analyzing the root cause. Silence helps us to overcome this. When the mind is filled with good intentions, good action often takes place.

5. Emotional Detox

Silence acts as an emotional detox. Sitting in silence or spending time in silence helps us to identify the incident that triggered the negative reaction. In that way, we will be able to respond to every situation instead of reacting to it.

Thus, silence can help eliminate some of the adverse effects of noise in our daily lives.

6. Silence lessens stress and tension

Noise pollution has been found to increase health-related issues like heart attack and high blood pressure. As mentioned in the introduction loud noise has been found to release the stress hormone by activating the brain’s amygdala. Thus, people who live in loud environments often experience elevated levels of stress hormones. 

Silence gives the brain a break. Whenever you can it’s worth choosing silence. Try to find extra pockets of silence during the work day, and savor the silence. Or if you can, it’s time to block out the noise at your workplace or home. This can help lessen stress and improve your overall health.

A  study found two minutes of silence to be more relaxing than listening to relaxing music. 

7. Self Awareness Improvement

In silence, you make room for self-awareness. Once you break yourself from external voices you begin to listen more internal voice and these voices leads to awareness. Thus, you become the observer of your thoughts. Therefore, you feel more in control of your own actions.  You tend to be less impulsive and more proactive which helps in your overall well-being.

8. Burnout Prevention

Too often, our culture relates hard work over productivity. The more the person works, the more he/she will be productive. This has led to burnout amongst the working population. Many studies have found that meditation or silence after long hours of work can lead to burnout prevention. 

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Long haul flights and jet lag can disrupt regular workout and overall wellness routines. Although relaxing and letting your body recover from the strain of workouts, you should remember to get right back to your workouts to maintain fitness.

You need to stay fit even as you enjoy your vacation in whatever location on earth and destination. Here are a few tips to help you stay fit in your travels.

1. Water

We all know the importance of frequently taking water. However, we often neglect to do as expected in order to stay hydrated. The benefits of water exceed imaginably.

The phrase ‘water is life’ is not understated as it brings many wellness characteristics to the user from healing headaches to losing weight.

Taking plenty of water on a long haul flight can be helpful and can make a huge difference yet easily overlooked by most people.

Spending long hours on a plan is dehydrating so carry your water bottle to keep you as much hydrated as possible. Take sips throughout the day and your body will appreciate it.

Avoid beverages such as coffee because they are dehydrating. Instead of taking plain tasteless water, you may spice it up with highly alkaline substances such as cucumbers, beets, or coconut.

2. Equipment

If you will not be finding a gym or pool in your destination, it is imperative that you carried your own equipment. Even if you find a gym, it may not be fully equipped and you may not have the time for a full workout.

There are various travel accessories to use here. You can find easy to pack essentials to take with you. This means you can progress with your workout on the floor of your hotel room. This means you can get sweaty quickly without necessarily needed lots of space and time.

3. Running Shoes and Workout Clothes

Running shoes and sporty clothes should always be part of your travel gear. Take clothes and shoes, which give you comfort to walk and run in without complaining. Without these gear, there is not much hope to get a comfortable workout and motivation.

Luckily, there are hotels, which offer loaner shoes and workout clothes at a small fee. It means you still have a chance to get into the workout mood and keep fit while far away from your home or regular gym.

Use a different bag such as a plastic bag to separate and keep the rest of your luggage smelling fresh. With comfy shoes, you can walk and jog around in your new destination without worrying or complaining. There is no excuse in skipping workouts and slipping back into unfitness.

4. The Right Hotel

In your list of options when making the choice of a hotel, consider a modern gym and pool. There are many facilities installed in most hotels recently to allow you to have the best out of the workouts.

You may access the state of the art gyms, and pools to boost your morale and psyche to workout. Some even have classes such as yoga.

You should, therefore, look for one with a passion for fitness. Let it be one that has invested in equipment such as kettlebells and weights and not old school machines.

Old gyms may cause serious accidents. Exercise facilities close to you will motivate you to work out without much effort as they are easy to access.

In fact, having one in your hotel makes it closer than your local gym back home. There are no excuses to get out and sweat it out to keep fit.

5. Free Food and Drink

You are likely to be exposed to irresistible new cuisines. The buffets may come with complimentary booze and free food, which is not easy to pass.

They include airport lounges, hotel club, and restaurants. You had better learn to say no to all the pleasantries or you will affect your fitness progress.

The delectable cakes and free drinks are not exactly your friends if you want to keep fit. Instead, choose more vegetables, salads, and meats and not on too many sugary desserts.

Avoid cheese and alcohol despite their abundance in your vicinity. Your body will be grateful for it especially when you embark on another long haul flight.

6. Take Advantage of Jet Lag

Although jet lag can be distressing, it may also offer an opportunity to a fantastic gain. You will be having enough time to get your workout sessions as a way to fight away the jet lag for the next day.

In case you were up early and cannot seem to sleep at night, you may take a run, swim, yoga, or hit the gym. Give it your best shot by extending to at least 30 minutes or an hour.

Your body will acclimate to new sleep patterns and at the same time, you will be through with your daily workout. This means you have two birds to kill with the same stone.

7. Classes

Travelling gives you a chance to get out and step out of your routine. You hope to find new experiences before embarking to your norm comfort zone.

This is also a good time to take an exercise class if don’t. You will have the chance to find a new instructor and learn as much as you can out of a new destination. 

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Medical Emergencies Abroad A Complete Guide

Going on a vacation abroad for the first time can be an exciting and rewarding experience yet simultaneously terrifying as well planned trips can suddenly turn to a nightmare should unforeseen medical emergency abroad.

You never can tell, you may become a victim of circumstance falling sick unexpectedly most especially in an environment that speaks a language you don’t understand.

You are bound to face a lot of challenges because not all hospitals abroad attend to foreigners; the best step for you to take is to prepare yourself for situations like this before leaving your home country.

It is normal to prepare yourself for imminent feelings of the unknown and unexpected weighing down on your mind.  No matter what you ought to face while on travel, the best advice that is plain and simple is for you to cover your journey with a health insurance scheme facilitator abroad. 

No matter your age, going on an international trip (i.e., studying, volunteering, teaching and so on) you need to prepare for possible risks before kick-starting your journey overseas as your medical insurance abroad must carry the most significant weight. 

This short piece will give you a complete guide on how to manage medical emergencies abroad.

In the usual case, you are expected to have a comprehensive understanding of how your local insurance and healthcare system works.

It is of great help as it lets you have a basic understanding of what is likely to happen when medical emergencies come up wherever you find yourself. With the kind of health care system that is common around the world, you are expected to have an insurance policy that can help you cover expenses that may come up while you are abroad.

However, whether you have an insurance plan covering you or not, you have hope as there are companies that offer a one-off medical insurance policy that could complement or replace your primary care.  

First of all, check for an insurance policy in your home country to know all the benefits they offer and the kind of expenses they could cover for you outside your home area.

But, if your insurance policy ( Guide To Choosing Travel Insurance  ) is not standard enough for you, there are companies abroad that offer one-off medical travel insurance that can complement and at the same time replace your primary care. 

Now that you are assured of help elsewhere don’t forget to take along with you either of premium America express card, visa signature or MasterCard world.

This is the best answer to your problem, it provides 24/7 concierge that helps you with doctor referrals, costs, and options to get you a reliable English speaking help.

Secondly, you need to know if your travel destination can make a difference: the country you are heading to can determine the kind of health insurance coverage you will need abroad.

For example, US citizen who travels to European countries will require a specific insurance coverage before they can qualify for a visa 90 days period visa while those who are not from the United States will need a visa coverage certificate for a start.

What does insurance abroad cover?

Medical insurance abroad covers all risks that guide the nature of any form of emergencies like doctor’s visits to labs orders or emergency surgeries or dental care for pain relief.

However, emergency evacuations and services are mostly considered separate line items. For any coverage, you want to use, ensure that policies cover this area as well as other emergency policies like family travel agreements in case a family member needs to fly out to the side bed.

Thirdly, what is the likely cost medical insurance abroad: when seeking to get medical insurance overseas, don’t shop for a cheap or low price medical insurance policy it does not reflect a good deal rather it may be a sign of bare bond policy with high deductibles and minimums.

Medical systems with shorter trips can start with as little as $1 a day for shorter trips but ultimately travel health insurance costs is determined by some factors like traveler’s age, duration of travel and most likely limit of coverage, amount of deductibles and so on.

In case you are lost and needs a better understanding of how to go about this option you can search for medical insurance companies that offer an opportunity of free quote for their packages.  

Fourthly, you need to know that there is a difference between travel insurance and medical insurance abroad. With all your research and findings you might likely come across different languages that carry similar insurance names like insurance abroad, travel insurance and international medical coverage.

Without taking so much of your time, travel or trip insurance is a package that compensates for lost, stolen or damaged luggage while in transit and for unplanned trip cancellations.

While medical evacuation is for situations when you need to airlift for special emergency care abroad and the last one which is emergency medical expenses coverage explains when you generally need medical insurance overseas.

This kind of protection comes with a reference, avoid making unnecessary expenses and make sure you have enough coverage for medical expenses.

Finally, you need to know the right insurance for your travels (students/intern/work e.t.c): not all insurance coverage abroad is equal which indicates that trip comes in all lengths and varying degrees of adventure.

Be familiar with the details of what risks and characteristics your travel entails and pick the right plan that can quickly help you cover them.

The most significant item on your travel checklist is supposed to be your medical insurance plan abroad. You are traveling to a place where you can’t open the door to find your family members who can quickly come to your rescue when there is an emergency. With this guide, you should be able to know how to go about medical emergencies abroad.     

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While most people travel without any plan it is advised to keep certain things in hand while traveling. Most people will need some form of medicine while traveling. Whenever you want to travel to a particular location it is advised to think about that particular place while traveling.

Are there any medical clinics available in that location?

How will you respond when you fall sick in such a place?

Whether you are traveling to a remote place or a big city the following medical checklist will make sure that you have a safe trip.

Here’s the list

•   Cough Medicine

•   Cold tablets

•   Motion Sickness Tablets

•   Throat lozenges

•   Antiseptic ointment for wound

•   Plasters for covering the wound

•   Scissors

•  Insect repellent

•  Diarrhea medicine

•  Constipation medicine

•  Indigestion tablets

•  Ear plugs

•  Eye lubricant drops

•  Pain relief tablets

•  Antihistamine tablets for bites or allergies

•  Antifungal or antibacterial cream

•  Sunscreen lotion

•  Mosquito-proof bed net

•  Hand sanitizer gel

•  Contraceptives

•  Health Insurance Card

It is also advised to keep some  altitude sickness medicines, antibiotics for intestinal or respiratory infection and malarial prevention tablets in case you are unable to find a clinic in certain areas.

Apart from the above, prescription medicines given by your doctor should be taken. Also, it is advised to keep the prescription along with the medicines.