As summer approaches and society begins to reopen up after the disruption that occurred in 2020 due to the pandemic, it’s important to think about outdoor safety.
Outdoor safety should include a few factors:
Know Your Environment:
Knowing the environment you’ll be immersed in and to dress appropriately. For example, if you’re planning a trip to the desert in June, you probably won’t want to wear bulky, heavy clothes. Instead, you would want to choose loose-fitting, breathable materials that help protect you from the sun and heat without causing you to get too hot.
Drink Plenty Of Water :
Water serves to maintain the body’s internal temperature, so drinking plenty of water will assist you in keeping your body regulated. Often being outdoors exposes us to more or less humidity that dehydrates us without us being aware. Also, by being outdoors, we tend to be more active than when we’re sedentary at home, and we are losing more water than we thought through sweating and breathing.
Wear Sunscreen :
Protecting your skin is one of the easiest, yet most overlooked safety precautions we can take. Any time you’re outdoors you should be using sunscreen and reapplying it as directed.
In general, you should choose a sunscreen that has a high SPF – which is a term that means Sun Protection Factor. SPF is the grade a sunscreen has for the duration it will protect you in direct sunlight. For example, an SPF of 30 will provide a maximum protection of 30 minutes in direct sunlight. So, the higher the SPF, the better.
Don’t forget to reapply your sunscreen, especially if you’re sweating or in water. Most sunscreens recommend a reapplication between 1-2 hours, but it’s best to reapply earlier than the recommended time as your activity may differ from the recommended time frame.
One last thing, sunscreen will only protect you to a certain level. Dressing according to your activity is crucial, and it’s recommended that you wear loose-fitting clothes and a wide-brimmed hat that covers your head, neck, and shoulders.
Don’t Overstay :
How often have you gone to a park, beach, or lake for the entire day? Of course, you pack lunches, snacks, and water and bring some shade and other outdoor protection. But the longer you’re outside the more the elements impact your body. So to protect your skin and your health, instead of spending 9-10 hours at the shore, consider going for two hours.
What To Do If You Plan To Travel
If you’re planning a longer-term vacation, in addition to the tips listed previously, there are a few other things you need to consider to make your trip safe and enjoyable.
Plan Your Trip And Share It
Creating an itinerary that details the days and dates you plan to arrive at certain places and how long you plan to stay are important for your planning. Once you have a plan in place, you should share it with a close friend or family member so that if there’s an emergency for you on the trip or at home, people know where to look for you and how to reach you.
Pack Then Re-Pack
Too often we get excited for all our activities on our trip, So to and we overpack. This is especially true on road trips where we have all the car space to utilize versus a flight that has limitations on the size and number of bags you can take with you.
A good strategy is to pack once, see the size of your gear, unpack, and eliminate 25% of your stuff, then repack. This strategy will help you eliminate any unnecessary items and prioritize those things that you a) need, and b) will use.
Budget Your Trip And Your Return
Most people know to budget for their trip to include gas, hotel costs, food, and entertainment. What most trip budgets don’t account for is the first couple of weeks home. Once you return, you have to return to work to be paid and not have immediate income on your arrival home. The unfortunate side of travel is that your bills don’t stop, and without income, you could find your annual budget to be in the hole.
4 Critical Other Things To Consider
Nobody enjoys planning for worst-case situations, but there are a few other things to consider if you’re planning on a long-term vacation.
- Housing Insurance: Protect your home and property with an increase in housing insurance that will protect your things if something happens while you’re away.
- Travel Insurance: Depending on where you’re traveling, there are travel insurance options that have added coverage, including health coverage for overseas travel, to guarantee coverage.
- Life Insurance: Consider a life insurance plan for the worst-case situations that may come up during your travels. You can find affordable term life insurance rates that will cover you and your family if something happens that is traumatic.
- Stop Your Mail: Putting a pause on mail delivery is a great suggestion. It won’t stop your bills from being sent but will prevent them from piling up in your mailbox, announcing that you’re out of town.
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