Trips during the holiday season. Before reaching your destination, you might experience fatigue and various discomforts on the way. So, on the eve of the holiday, let's discuss how to relieve motion sickness, boost energy, reduce fatigue, take personal precautions, maintain health, and quickly recover after a tiring journey.
Relieving Motion Sickness
① Boosting Energy, Calming the Nervous System
A considerable number of people experience motion sickness when traveling by car, train, or plane due to the swaying of the vehicle. It disrupts the balance signals sent by the vestibular system, causing motion sickness symptoms.
Some people carry fruits or peels with pleasant scents, such as lemons or oranges. We can also carry purer plant essential oils for inhalation (drip 1-3 drops on a handkerchief or tissue and inhale) to improve motion sickness and dizziness symptoms, helping to boost energy and stabilize the nervous system. Essential oils like lemon, sweet orange, peppermint, and tea tree have such effects.
◇ Recommended Single Essential Oils
Citrus limon
Loved for its refreshing, sweet, and slightly sour aroma, it can help boost energy, alleviate irritability, enhance focus, soothe emotions, and relieve headaches and migraines.
Citrus sinensis
Its refreshing aroma can help ease indigestion and feelings of nausea, providing significant relief both mentally and physically.
Myristica fragrans
Rich in menthol, peppermint has a cooling scent that can act as a brain stimulant, promoting alertness, and calming emotions.
② Calming Emotions, Promoting Peaceful Sleep
Besides staying alert and enjoying the scenery along the way, some people may choose to have a restful sleep during the journey to rejuvenate themselves. Trains and high-speed rail transport can be crowded and noisy, leading to irritability and discomfort. During such times, we can choose essential oils with calming and soothing effects for simple inhalation. For example, true lavender, frankincense, and sweet orange can enter the limbic system through the sense of smell, directly influencing our minds and emotions, improving restlessness before sleep.
◇ Recommended Single Essential Oils
True Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
With its strong and sweet fragrance, it contains a high proportion of esters, providing excellent calming and soothing effects on the nervous system, alleviating fatigue.
Roman Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)
Roman chamomile essential oil is used as a gentle sedative to calm the nerves and promote relaxation, facilitating healthy sleep and combating insomnia. Inhaling Roman chamomile reduces the stress response that leads to an increase in "corticosteroids" levels in the blood, helping to calm and improve sleep quality.
Litsea cubeba
Litsea has a lemony aroma with captivating herbal notes, known for uplifting the spirit and aiding relaxation. The volatile components in the oil can assist in sleep and reduce feelings of depression. Diffusing it can help alleviate tiredness.
③ Relieving Motion Sickness and Nausea
For those who are prone to severe motion sickness and vomiting, it is essential to ensure adequate sleep the night before departure and avoid overeating before the trip. Opt for light and easily digestible foods. Stay hydrated and maintain a regular eating schedule during the journey. You can bring easily portable staple foods like flatbreads, bread, fresh fruits like apples and pears for appetite stimulation and hydration. Preparing small portions of nutritious and delicious side dishes like sauced beef or braised eggs can also help improve appetite.
During the trip, try to minimize head movements and avoid looking at moving scenery outside the window. Staring at screens for prolonged periods on moving transportation can also cause discomfort like dizziness. It is best to avoid reading books or using mobile phones in dimly lit and complex environments.
For severe motion sickness, in addition to inhaling essential oils, you can also massage the Gong Sun acupoint (located on the inner edge of the foot, about 2 inches behind the big toe) to help alleviate the feeling of nausea.
Public Space Personal Protection
Many people may get sick after long rides on public transportation. This could be due to decreased immunity from travel fatigue or being exposed to sick passengers nearby. Additionally, sitting near the aisle may expose you to infectious individuals moving around.
Especially during the current period of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to take personal protective measures while traveling to return home safely. During the journey, you can inhale essential oils like Melaleuca quinquenervia, Lavender, Tea Tree, and Eucalyptus globulus to help protect against respiratory infections.
◇ Single Essential Oil Recommendations
Niaouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia)
Slightly bitter with a sweet camphor and eucalyptol scent, strong aroma. Its main component, eucalyptol, has antimicrobial properties and aids in respiratory system regulation and addressing allergic bronchial issues. It also contains pinene, which provides mucosal protection.
Eucalyptus globulus
Instantly refreshing with a strong scent of fresh grass, primarily composed of eucalyptol, which helps eliminate mucus, acts as an expectorant, and has anti-inflammatory effects, benefiting the respiratory system.
Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia)
A refreshing and spicy leaf scent, mainly composed of terpinene-4-ol, which helps repel germs and provides respiratory system support. It also contains pinene, offering mucosal protection. Tea Tree promotes mental clarity, anti-mucositis, nerve strengthening, and soothing effects.
In addition to inhaling the oils, using antiviral protective masks with plant essential oil molecules can enhance respiratory immune function and effectively kill bacteria and microorganisms, deactivating over 99% of influenza and norovirus (tested and certified by the US SITU Biosciences Laboratory and SGS International Accreditation Institution), with a bacteria inhibition rate of up to 99%.
Alleviating Fatigue and Reviving Energy
During holidays, traffic jams are inevitable, and prolonged sitting can strain your lumbar muscles and ligaments. You can alleviate back pressure by adjusting the seat, adding a small soft cushion to support the lower back's natural curve, etc. Prolonged inactivity increases the risk of blood clots, so it's advisable to stand up and stretch your legs every 2 to 4 hours while at service areas or in train compartments. If you feel physically fatigued, massaging and pressing the "Zusanli" acupoint (located about 10 cm below the outer eye of the knee) can help relieve tiredness.
After reaching your destination, soaking your feet in warm water can promote blood circulation. Add 5 to 8 drops of Ginger essential oil emulsified in a foot bath, soak for 15 to 20 minutes, and combine with massaging the "Zusanli" acupoint to help improve blood circulation and alleviate symptoms like fatigue and muscle soreness. You can also use a blend of essential oils for better results.
Foot Bath Essential Oil
✱ This formula is not suitable for pregnant women
【Fatigue Relief Formula】
8 drops of Ginger + 5 drops of Cardamom + 7 drops of Bergamot + 1 drop of Cinnamon Leaf + 1 drop of Ravintsara
【Usage Suggestions】
After blending the essential oils, mix them with 3 to 5 times the amount of whole milk and emulsify before pouring into the foot bath. Individuals with cardiovascular diseases, varicose veins, venous thrombosis, and those taking anticoagulant medications should avoid foot baths.
Long-Distance Travel Tips
- When taking long-distance transportation, choose loose-fitting clothes from underwear to outerwear to reduce discomfort since you'll be sitting most of the time in confined spaces. Also, keep an eye on the weather and adjust clothing accordingly to avoid discomfort due to temperature changes.
- Long-distance driving may lead to traffic jams, making it inconvenient to replenish food. Therefore, prepare easily storable and energy-boosting snacks like compressed biscuits, beef jerky, instant noodles, etc. Carry enough drinking water to stay hydrated and prevent headaches due to dehydration.
- When driving, avoid fatigue by resting every 2 to 3 hours at service areas. Look into the distance to avoid eye fatigue and perform simple full-body movements like neck twists, waist twists, and leg stretches to protect your lumbar spine.
