Travel hits you harder in your 40s. If you’re dealing with post-travel bloating, fatigue, and hormone shifts, here’s what’s actually happening in your body and how to recover faster.
Week before last I flew across the country to visit my mom and dad in Arizona for three nights, then to see my bff in Dallas for three nights. It was a long, but good, trip. It was a perfect balance of health and relaxation followed by fun eating, drinking and socializing.
Usually I come home so depressed, but prior to the trip I had doubled down on my health protocol from running my most recent hair tissue and mineral analysis and I started feeling really good. So good that I actually bounced back from the trip faster than usual.
Of course I came home bloated, puffy and a bit tired, but nearly as bad as my last few trips. Because when we are dealing with aging, hormone fluctuations from perimenopause, adrenal burnout, digestive distress and other typical 40 something high achiever issues, we just have less of a buffer. Our bodies just don’t tolerate things the same.
In fact, here are some typical symptoms I have experienced personally and have heard from clients also experiencing as well. I grouped them together based on what they’re generally linked to/ caused by.
Blood Sugar Regulation
Common blood sugar regulation symptoms that worsen with travel or other stressful event: Increased sugar cravings, energy crashes mid-day, feeling hungrier than usual, low appetite (in some cases), needing caffeine to function, brain fog, irritability and waking up in the middle of the night (especially 2–4am).
Mineral Imbalances
Typical symptoms related to sodium, potassium and magnesium imbalances that can be exacerbated by travel: Puffy face / under-eye swelling, water retention (tight rings, clothes fitting different), salt cravings, feeling dehydrated despite drinking water, lightheadedness when standing, headaches, muscle tightness or cramping and of course, fatigue.
Hormones
I’m lumping perimenopause and cortisol together in this group. Typical symptoms associated with these when traveling when you already have some issues here include: Mood swings, post-travel blues / low mood, increased PMS symptoms, breast tenderness, cycle irregularities (shorter or longer cycles), feeling more overwhelmed than usual, “wired but tired” feeling and poor stress tolerance.
Digestion and Gut Health
These are common for most people when you eat and drink differently, but travel is a double whammy here: Bloating (especially later in the day), gas or pressure after meals, constipation or sluggish bowel movements, loose stools after richer foods or alcohol, heartburn or reflux and reduced tolerance to certain foods.
Liver Load/ Detox Capacity
These may be things you notice at home, but usually worsen when experiencing stress, especially from travel: Increased sensitivity to alcohol, skin breakouts, dull skin, dark under-eye circles and/or nausea or sluggish feeling after heavier meals.
Nervous System Recovery
When traveling these almost always seem to be the case but it worsens when you have less of that healthy “buffer”: Trouble falling asleep. waking during the night, fatigue even after sleep, reduced workout performance, longer recovery time and feeling “off” or not fully present.
Immune Resilience
When your body is not in a great state you are certainly going to get sick more easily after travel as well as having lingering fatigue after being run down.
Here’s what’s actually happening under the surface…
It’s easy to blame travel, alcohol, or “being off track”… but what’s really happening is a temporary breakdown in systems your body relies on to stay stable. When those systems are already a little stressed (which is most women in this season of life), it doesn’t take much to tip things over. Travel is just the thing that tips the scale a bit too far.
It’s not just the plane ride, the strange bed or the cocktails at dinner. It’s actually a few things that are happening all at once..
Your blood sugar is all over the place from irregular meals, more carbs, alcohol, and less structure. That’s where the cravings, energy crashes, mood swings, and middle-of-the-night wakeups come from.
Your minerals take a hit. Flying, alcohol, poor sleep, and stress all deplete sodium, potassium, and magnesium. That’s why you come home puffy, dehydrated, tired, and sometimes even anxious or lightheaded.
Your digestion slows down. Less routine, different foods, eating out more, and stress on your nervous system all impact stomach acid, bile flow, and motility. Hello bloating, constipation, or the opposite.
Your stress response ramps up. Even fun trips are still stress on the body. Add travel days, time changes, less sleep, and more stimulation… and now cortisol is elevated. That “wired but tired,” overwhelmed, slightly edgy feeling? That’s not in your head.
And then hormones layer on top of all of it. Especially in perimenopause, where your buffer is already lower. The same things you used to bounce back from in your 20s now linger longer.
So it’s not that your body is failing you but that your body is responding based on the inputs and the capacity it currently has. But when you support these systems before, during, and after travel it won’t be nearly as bad!
So what do you do about it?
With HTMA testing + 1:1 coaching we can look deeper at your mineral status and get insights to which systems need the support and how to do it at the foundational level. You will have a targeted approach based on exactly what is going on inside of your cells so you can stop dreading travel and enjoy yourself and how you look and feel again!
Spots are currently open to work 1:1 with me. Get all of the details here.
Your Coach,
Kyra