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How to nail a UK staycation
In recent weeks, our social media feeds have started to feature friends’ foreign getaways once again. But whether you’ve decided to avoid the risks and spend your annual leave at home this summer, or chance a holiday within these shores, careful planning can still ensure your staycation is more restful than any overseas trip. It’ll feel longer as well, as you won’t be wasting hours getting to the airport or queuing in passport control.
In fact, there’s lots to recommend the staycation. Even without Covid concerns, travelling can take days to recover from, points out psychologist and travel blogger Honey Langcaster-James. ‘As much as it’s fun to travel to far-off lands, flying long haul or taking a long journey at the start and end of your holiday can be a real drag and the jet-lag can be horrendous,’ she says. Plus, as lots of desirable locations have now been added to the quarantine list, you’re likely to end up stuck at home on the other side. ‘If you want to keep things as stress-free as possible, a staycation may be just what the doctor ordered.’
Even back in 2018, when our travel options weren’t restricted by the global pandemic, 93% of British adults were enjoying at least one staycation a year, according to research conducted by Wonga. The report also found the average cost of a staycation was £267.93 per head, so cheaper than a foreign trip, too. Whatever your budget, there are many ways to spend it.
Staycation from home
Since lockdown, home has become a hybrid space for many of us. In some cases, it’s functioned both as an office and a home school by necessity. So, if you can’t get away this year, think about the steps you can take to transform it into a space you can relax in again.
If the housework has built up, set aside the weekend before your annual leave to clear those chores and to ensure that elements of your everyday regime don’t infringe on your staycation. Set your out-of-office, switch off work emails and make it clear to friends and family that you’re taking time out.
Make being at home feel like a holiday by eating out at the local restaurants you’ve always wanted to try. Or, pay for a recipe delivery service for the week and try out some new cuisines. Also indulge in some pamper time by treating yourself to an at-home ‘spa’ evening – run a bath, put on a face mask and give yourself that well-deserved mani-pedi.
As well as ‘me time’, plan some ‘our time’ too. Instead of running around after the kids, running errands for your parents and texting friends, schedule a fun socially distanced activity. Invite them for a country walk culminating in a pub lunch; a barbecue in the garden that you otherwise have little time to sit in; or a game of rounders in the park.
This is also an opportunity to go on bucket-list day trips to the coast, to National Trust properties and museums and galleries. Look at the UK through the eyes of a tourist. You’ll be thrilled by how much it has to offer. Check out visitbritain.com for inspiration.
Find a home-from-home
If you need to keep costs down, but are desperate for a change of scenery, you could move into someone else’s home for free. Housesit for a friend who’s off travelling or check into a stranger’s home through a house-sitting network. TrustedHousesitters.com matches people who want their homes looked after when they’re away with those looking to stay in their area. It has dozens of UK homes looking for sitters. You may have to walk the dogs and mow the lawn, but you get to holiday in a different part of the country for free. If you swap your home with someone looking to holiday in your area, you’ll get your place looked after too. Lovehomeswap.com has people looking for home exchanges across Britain.
Have fun under canvas
If you haven’t camped before, it’s never too late to try. Plus, Simon McGrath, the Camping and Caravanning Club’s senior communications manager and author of Camping With Kids believes it could give you a much-needed opportunity to switch off from home life. ‘Camping gives busy people the chance to disconnect from technology, reconnect with nature and spend quality time in the great outdoors together,’ he explains.
For a comfy night’s sleep, invest in a roomy, easy-to-erect tent, warm sleeping bags and self-inflating mats to insulate you from the cold floor. If you’re a first-time camper, McGrath advises practising pitching your tent and spending your first night sleeping in it in your garden – kids will love the novelty of an outdoor sleepover! When it comes to picking a campsite, look for one in a great area, but make sure it covers the practicalities, too, and check details like size and location of pitch before booking. McGrath advises: ‘Pick a site with good facilities, which means the trip to the loo in the middle of the night need not be such a scary prospect. If you have children, seek out a family-friendly campsite.’ Search at campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk or coolcamping.com; nothing beats tips from friends either.
The post How to nail a UK staycation appeared first on Healthy Magazine | Food | Fitness | Beauty | Health.
How to handle your hangover like a pro
Search for a hangover cure online and the most common answer you’ll find from medically trained professionals is don’t drink alcohol. It seems they’re fighting a losing battle, though – a 2018 government survey found that only 20% of UK over-16s are teetotal. Alcohol is in most of our lives: sales of booze soared during lockdown and thousands flocked to bars and pubs as they reopened for ‘Super Saturday’. Even if it’s from one-too-many G&Ts at a family BBQ, it seems a huge number of us are vulnerable to the aftermath of alcohol. We need some handy hangover cures.
On the flipside, pop philosophy that encourages a ‘hair of the dog’ attitude to dealing with hangovers is short-sighted, potentially increasing damage to your liver. It’s important to cure the odd hangover the right way, so here’s how to foolproof your revival plan. Bottoms up!
It’s more than dehydration
‘Alcohol has to be metabolised by the liver, which it can’t do in large quantities,’ says nutritionist Emma Jones. ‘If we have more than our liver can take, our alcohol levels get too high and it affects our behaviour. Alcohol is a diuretic, causing us to wake up with a dry mouth and reach for that pint of water.’
Humans have been producing alcohol since the dawn of civilisation and with that comes nearly 9000 years of thinking about the best possible hangover cure. In Mesopotamia, people added myrrh to ground birds’ beaks to help counteract the effects of booze; Mongolians ate sheep’s eyes, while the ancient Chinese favoured green tea as a hangover cure.
Today, the most common advice is to keep hydrated. This is sound, but it doesn’t mean dehydration is the primary cause of a hangover. ‘A hangover is a nebulous set of symptoms,’ says nutrition consultant Drew Price, ‘These include nausea, dizziness, diarrhoea, sleepiness and memory loss. Dehydration was thought to be the number one cause, now that picture is changing.’
There is surprisingly little research into hangovers, but nutrition experts now recognise these symptoms as the result of two things: ‘Inflammation and alcohol’s affinity with neurotransmitters,’ explains Price. ‘Inflammation occurs everywhere, in every cell. This messes with your body’s ability to send electrolytes and fluids to the right areas of the body. It also causes the body to produce fewer antioxidants.’
Antioxidants reduce oxidative stress, but when alcohol consumption causes inflammation, the body becomes riddled with oxidative problems that can lead to fatigue and ageing. Studies have shown that oxidative stress may also be a key marker for Alzheimer’s disease.
Price adds, ‘Alcohol also seems to block an inhibitory neurotransmitter called GABA, which is associated with chilling you out. While a glass of wine may encourage GABA to function and help you feel relaxed, a certain amount of alcohol will block it, causing restlessness and a disturbance in sleep.’
Nutritionists’ advice on how to avoid a hangover comes down to managing your behaviour on a night out. ‘My first piece of advice would be to drink a non-alcoholic drink in between drinks,’ says Price. ‘Choose a drink that’s bitter or sour – something you can’t just guzzle like cola. This will make you drink less. Also, if you stop drinking early, it’s going to give your body longer to react, break down the alcohol, and your sleep quality will improve.’
‘Have a small meal before you drink, particularly something with a bit of fat in it,’ says Jones. ‘If you’re in a rush, peanut butter on toast is a good option, delaying the effects of alcohol.’
‘Some people find dark drinks worsen their hangover symptoms. Drinks like whisky or red wine have different compounds, so you might be better sticking to lighter-coloured drinks.’ This sensible advice may slip your memory on an indulgent evening, but luckily science can suggest some nutritional damage control. ‘NAC, or N-acetyl cysteine, is a supplement that increases the production of an antioxidant called glutathione,’ says Price. ‘This appears in pretty much every cell of your body and may help reduce inflammation. It’s also a nootropic, which means it improves the function of the brain and neurotransmitters. The caveat is there’s no long-term data on the safety of NAC.’ An anti-inflammatory method as simple as everyday painkillers can also serve as a hangover cure. ‘This means having 200mg of ibuprofen before bed on a full stomach.’
It might be tempting to try and cure a hangover with another drug: caffeine. But Jones raises a caution: ‘You’ll already be dehydrated, and caffeine is a diuretic. Caffeine can also be quite aggressive on the stomach, so if you’re nauseous it might not be the best option.’
Future hangover cures
Just like the problem of human mortality, scientists are inevitably working on the ultimate hangover cure. Chemical engineers at UCLA in Los Angeles have been developing a pill to reverse the effects of a hangover. It contains enzymes that break down both alcohol and a molecule called acetaldehyde that causes headaches and vomiting, and ultimately reduces blood alcohol content. While this sounds like a wondrous answer to Saturday morning existentialism, perhaps we all need a hangover to keep us in check and remind us that just like water to wine, alcohol can turn to poison.
The post How to handle your hangover like a pro appeared first on Healthy Magazine | Food | Fitness | Beauty | Health.
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