Working and traveling simultaneously can take a lot out of a girl, and the first thing to fall by the wayside is taking steps to make sure I’m healthy. Subsequently, my sleep schedule on the road gets sporadic, and my stress levels go through the roof — causing all kinds of fun outcomes, like skin issues (woohoo for pimples in the middle of my forehead!), unpredictable mood swings, and appetite changes that aren’t conducive to healthy choices. Slowly, but surely, I’ve added a few products to my arsenal to help with this, and a renewed commitment to using them while on the road has made travel even more enjoyable. I’m sharing with you a few of my favorites, including some brands I’ve been using for years. Hope you find value in discovering a few new products, and never hesitate to reach out with any questions!

RESCUE REMEDY

This is a brand that I was fortunate enough to be introduced to more than five years ago. As some of you know, I was at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013, and subsequently was injured as a result of being there. In addition to the physical repercussions of that day, the emotional processing that has to go along with a traumatic event is substantial. Cue trouble sleeping! Prescription meds knocked me out, but gave me horrible night terrors, so I started to seek alternatives to help me sleep, as well as help me manage unexpected stress. A family friend bought me the entire Rescue Remedy product line and told me to give it a try. Five years later, I am still using their products. My personal favorite go-to is the Rescue Pastilles, that just look like cough drops, and are easy to pack in your purse or backpack. They also have drops that you can place right on your tongue in a pinch, which I like to take when I feel myself getting uptight or stressed out.

SAGE TONIC

My first client ever as an agency owner was Dr. Nada Milosavljevic of Sage Tonic. To this day, I’m grateful to have been introduced to her product line, including specially formulated teas, essential oils towelettes, and a mobile app. The entire line was created leveraging her expertise in Integrative Health (she is the Director of Integrative Health at Mass General Hospital), and is double Board Certified in Psychology & Neuroscience, and Integrative Medicine. Before meeting Nada, I was always skeptical of the power of essential oils and teas to help me feel better, but after reading her research and testing out the products myself, I’m a true convert! I religiously travel with her Clear Head Towelettes and Happiness Tea (it’s so tasty!), and I highly recommend taking a peak at her whole product line, which address other common conditions such as stress, inability to focus, sleep difficulty, and low energy.

CARE/OF

Do you find it stressful to remember and prepare for travel when it comes to vitamins and supplements? I did, and would often forgo packing them because it was such a freaking hassle. When Care/of reached out to me to try out their service about 18 months ago, I was really excited — not only because it introduced me to new supplements that I now take daily, but their packaging is GENIUS. The package your daily ration of vitamins and supplements individually, and mail out a box on a monthly basis like a subscription. Right now I order the Vitamin C, Calcium Plus, Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, Iron, Evening Primrose, and Glow Trio. They also have Quick Sticks, which are perfect for frequent fliers. I typically keep at least a couple Gut Check and Extra Batteries sticks lying around to help keep my digestion on track and support cognitive health.

OLLY

Another set of goodies I like to carry around with me recently are Olly gummies. A few of you actually recommended I give the brand a try, and I’m so thankful you did! Their sleep & stress gummies are actually incredibly tasty; it takes all the power in the world to not just snack on them at night… pretty sure I would never get up though! These differ from the other sleep products I mentioned, as they are a little bit of a slower burn, so to speak. I generally take a gummy an hour or so before bed, whereas the Rescue Remedy or Sage Tonic products I can take right before hitting the pillow. This is all just based on preference. Frankly, I sometimes take the gummies as a way to cut myself off from doing work until 3AM in my hotel room, and it’s a good way to make sure I’m getting at least 6-7 hours of sleep when I’m away from home.

As I mentioned, this is a system that I have built up over the last five or so years, and it has taken a lot of trial and error to figure out what works for my body and my style of travel. If you have questions about any of these products, definitely leave me a comment below, or don’t hesitate to reach out via email. Also, if you feel like sharing any ‘must-haves’, please do! I’m always looking for new brands and products to try out.

Real talk. Living in a city and traveling several months out of the year can have its pitfalls. For my friends in NYC, commute times to the airport (any airport!) can be atrocious. Mailboxes are so small that if you’re gone for an extended period of time, your mail might get returned because it doesn’t fit. Most recently, for me, I had an instance where when I was traveling, someone decided to go through my trash and find old mail and then contact me through social media saying they had my personal information. Eek! The entire ordeal ended in me contacting credit bureaus, cancelling credit cards, and setting up alerts to make sure no one was using my personal information to open new accounts. Needless to say, this was hours and hours of painstaking hold times, phone calls, and even making an in-person trip to a provider’s office. Woof!

In an effort to prevent something like this from happening in the future, or to at least be able to provide proof of someone digging through my trash, I have taken a few steps to protect my home – especially when I’m away. Investing in a shredder, not putting my garbage out until an hour before the city is slated to retrieve it, and also teaming up with Blink to try out their home security system, that I can operate right from an app on my phone.

I decided to go with both an indoor security camera (pictured) and weatherproof camera for maximum security – as the size and design (it’s wire free!) lend itself to being a discreet, yet comprehensive system. The great thing about this system is that you don’t need a bunch of fancy equipment to set it up, just your phone. So, how does it work? Blink cameras detect motion in your home and send alerts with HD video and audio right to your smartphone. You can then check back in with live HD video and audio streaming right on your smartphone from any of your up-to 10 Blink cameras per system. They even have an integration with Alexa, so you can provide voice commands to arm or disarm your camera, too! Another bonus, these little guys have two years of battery life on just two AA lithium batteries – meaning you don’t have to worry about the system while you’re away for extended periods of time.

For the frequent traveler who is concerned about their home security while away, I definitely recommend checking this system out. As one of the most affordable options on the market, it makes not having to worry about the safety of my identity and my home even more worth it.

This post is sponsored by Blink. All opinions shared are my own.