7 recommendations for venturing out alone

Whether you’re a lone wolf at heart or looking to broaden your sense of independence, traveling solo can be a richly empowering and satisfying experience.

Setting out on your own has many practical advantages. You’re not worrying about accommodating another’s schedule, interest or needs, and you’re free to decide what you want to do and when. Solo travel also elicits some mental and emotional benefits, as you experience a unique sense of freedom, liberation and self-sufficiency.

If you’re considering a solo journey, consider these tips from the book “101+ Tips for Solo Women Travelers,” which is offered by Overseas Adventure Travel in free digital and print editions.

Make Sure Your Passport is Updated

Many countries now require your passport to be valid for six months after your return to the United States. If you don’t have a passport, or need to renew one, apply for one as soon as possible. Ideally you should have your application in six months before you depart.

Look for Trips with No Single Supplement

Often, quoted rates are “per person, based on double occupancy.” This is because travel hosts know they can make more from a couple traveling than an individual. You can avoid paying a single supplement premium by being willing to match with a roommate or traveling with a tour company or cruise line with free or low-cost single supplement fees.

Use the ATM

As an affordable and convenient way to get cash, you can avoid wasting time in line at a bank or currency exchange bureau by visiting an ATM. While you’ll likely incur a fee for using an ATM that’s not part of your bank, it is often less than the commission you’d pay at an exchange bureau. Plus, you can avoid additional fees by calculating how much you’ll need for the trip and making one withdrawal as opposed to multiple smaller withdrawals.

Download Entertainment Before You Leave

When traveling, Wi-Fi can be expensive, slow or just not available. Before you leave, download music, e-books, podcasts, favorite tv shows or movies to enjoy while you’re en route or during down time.

Join Group Tours

Once you reach your destination, you may enjoy joining small groups for excursions or to explore local cuisine. Or you can make your entire journey a group experience. A small group adventure with Overseas Adventure Travel has many benefits, and built-in dining companions is just one of them.

Take Precautions in Your Hotel Room

When you check in, ask the receptionist to write your room number down instead of announcing it so everyone can hear. Make sure your room’s locks work on both the door into the hallway and the balcony. Never let any repair person or staff member into your room without confirming with the front desk first. Bring a rubber doorstop, which makes a hotel room door nearly impossible to open. Finally, have an exit plan: Know where the nearest exit is located and the route from your room.

Make New Friends

For some, making friends seems to happen naturally while traveling alone by chatting with strangers at a neighboring restaurant table or striking up a conversation while waiting in line at a store. If those situations don’t occur naturally, there are useful apps that can connect you with local people as well as fellow travelers.Find more tips to prepare for your journey at oattravel.com.

Tips For Healthier Sleep

Sleep can sometimes feel like self-care that can wait or a reward you need to earn. However, the opposite is true. When it comes to your health, sleep is just as important as physical activity and nutrition.

While you sleep, your body is busy healing and repairing itself, learning and actively preventing chronic diseases. For most adults, getting healthy sleep means sleeping for at least 7 hours each night without waking up frequently, going to bed and waking up at roughly the same times each day and waking up feeling refreshed. Healthy sleep helps the body boost immunity, manage weight, reduce stress and lower the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

“We know chronic insufficient sleep can have a detrimental impact on personal health and increase the risk of many diseases,” said Jennifer L. Martin, a licensed clinical psychologist and professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “Healthy sleep is also important for mood regulation and mental health, helping to reduce the risk of problems such as anxiety and depression.”

However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 3 adults in the United States report getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night. Your daily routine – what you eat and drink, the medications you take, how you schedule your days and how you spend your evenings – can significantly impact the quality and duration of your sleep.

These tips from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s “Sleep Is Good Medicine” campaign – which aims to emphasize sleep as a key pillar of health, equivalent with nutrition and exercise – can help you create a healthy sleep routine to improve your health today and in the long run.

• Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends and during vacations. 

• Set a bedtime early enough to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.

• Use your bed only for sleep and sex, or when you are sick. Watch TV and work outside the bedroom.

• Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature.

• Reduce fluid intake before bedtime.

• Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.

• Don’t eat a large meal before bedtime. If you are hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack.

• Avoid drinking caffeine in the afternoon or evening.

• If you don’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed. Do a quiet activity without a lot of light.

• Avoid alcohol before bedtime.

• Keep a sleep diary. Over a two-week period, track when you go to bed each day, wake during the night and wake in the morning. Also track when you exercise, nap, take medication or have caffeine or alcohol.

Even if you don’t think you have a sleep problem, talk to your doctor about your sleep and share your sleep diary. Together, you can figure out what healthy sleep looks like for you and how to get it. This can help prevent sleep difficulties before they become harder to treat.

Learn more about the role sleep plays in your health and find more tips to help improve your sleep habits at sleepisgoodmedicine.com.

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

’Tis the season for holiday parties, travel, hosting and more. While it is a joyous time of year, the never-ending to-do lists and school being out of session can make everyone feel a little overwhelmed, children included.

Consider these five practical tips from the experts at KinderCare to help families proactively manage holiday stressors.

1. Manage expectations. The commotion that often comes with the holiday season can be stressful for young children, but you can help alleviate worries by familiarizing them with what’s to come. Talk to them about upcoming travel arrangements, who they’ll see at events and what to expect throughout the season. If they are cautious in their current developmental stage, let loved ones know beforehand to give them a little extra space at festivities. Parents can also begin familiarizing little ones with relatives through photos and phone calls.

• Empower children. It’s important for children to understand they have a choice – and family members are willing to respect that choice. Parents should acknowledge their children’s body language and empower them to say “no” in uncomfortable situations. Parents can help by proactively asking questions such as, “Do you want a hug?” and if they say “no,” support them in their decision. This also helps establish healthy long-term social skills.

• Maintain your schedule. Children thrive on consistency, and during the holidays it’s important to at least try maintaining as much of what they’re used to as possible, such as naps, meals and playtime. Changes in schedule can result in more tantrums, so be sure to allow space for them to safely work through their emotions.

It’s also important to note that children feed off their parents’ energy, so make sure you’re in tune with your own emotions. When overwhelmed, openly discuss how you’re feeling and involve your children when taking breaks. For example, “It’s loud in here, would you like to go sit outside with me?”

• Have fun. Make time to spread joy and integrate activities to bond as a family, such as reading holiday-themed books, crafting, playing games, singing or baking. Whether old traditions or new, these are moments your child can cherish for years to come.

• Keep others in mind. While it’s important to set children up for success ahead of the holidays, parents should also teach children the holiday season can look different for others. Putting a focus on experiences rather than the gifts can help them have more to discuss with their peers when returning to school. It’s also a good time to consider donating toys to make room for new ones or volunteering at a local charity to show children joy can be experienced through more than just gifts.

To find more tips to help manage holiday stress, or to access additional resources around social development, setting boundaries and routines, visit KinderCare.com.

Fiona Kong is on a mission to help children of divorced families cope with the separation of homes with her newly released Home Sweet Homes Journal. Designed for kids four and up, it provides comfort and stability during a difficult time by serving as a safe space children can work with both parents on their needs as they go back and forth between homes.

The innovative idea gives children a personal platform to express thoughts and emotions, and easily track their transition schedule, events, milestones and more. The journal travels with the child from home to home, making it a mental and emotional anchor they can use to help with the transition from one house to the other.

Fiona developed the first-of-its-kind journal following her separation from her son’s father saying “parental separation can be very traumatic for kids where they may blame themselves, experience immense grief, or feel confused, scared or angry about what is happening”.  She went on to say, “Maintaining a strong and healthy connection to parents plays an important role in a child’s mental and emotional wellbeing. The journal serves as a bridge between homes for co-parented kids; it gives them a way to still feel like a family while providing reassurance they are safe, secure, and loved.”

The interactive daily journal contains fun activities for children to fill out, resilience building affirmations, and monthly calendars so children have access to their schedule no matter where they are. Each day contains open journaling space for kids to reflect on their day, process feelings and communicate ideas on their own or with the help of a parent. Overall, it provides a neutral place for the family to stay connected and actionably manage information between households.

The book has received praise from co-parents, therapists and coaches. Brandyn Roark Caires, LCPC, owner of Mind Matters BRC, Co-founder of Parent Team, mediator, and Accredited Collaborative Divorce Practitioner, Co-Parenting Coach is a Clinical Mental Health Therapist who specializes in working with children, teens, and families with two-home structures — assessed the journal and shared her thoughts.

“Children with two homes have to navigate more complexity in their lives. It’s important that their parents absorb as much of this complexity as possible, so kids aren’t left in the middle, don’t have to manage adult challenges, and just “get to be kids”. The Home Sweet Homes Journal and Planner helps to open a safe, neutral space for children to explore and process their two-home experiences. This journal also provides a child-focused opportunity for co-parents to connect on their children’s needs, keep their children out of the middle of conflict, and keep the focus on what their kids need. This beautifully bound journal is a thoughtful, organized, joyful, place for two-home families to navigate transitions, emotions, experiences, and memories together.” 

In addition to Brandyn’s positive comments, parenting coaches, divorce professionals and co-parents have left their thoughts in comments on Amazon and the Home Sweet Homes website. You can find the journal on Amazon or purchase it directly from Fiona’s website, Home Sweet Homes. In addition, the site includes how-to videos, use case examples, and a way to give back to the community of co-parents. 

Positively impacting future generations by helping children of divorce grow up to be emotionally healthy adults is especially important to Fiona. For that reason, she wants to help every co-parenting family have access to this tool and set up the Pay it Forward Program page for others who feel the same and want to donate a book to a family in need.

Contact Information:
Fiona Kong
hello@homesweethomesjournal.com

Photo Credit: Juhn Kwon Photography