Combining work and travel is a great way to make the most of remote working, while being able to take care of your physical and mental health – hence the increasing popularity of ‘workcations’.
The past few years have made us aware of just how important wellness and self-care is, but where in the world should you go for the best wellness experience if you’re taking a workcation?
In light of World Wellbeing Week next week, Icelandair, Iceland’s flagship airline, analysed over 100 of the most prominent cities in the world to uncover where’s best to take a wellness workcation.
More employees than ever are now working remotely, but there is nothing new about working outside of on office or without other employees. WFH has many advantages, one of the biggest advantages is having more free time and freedom to focus on yourself and happiness. For many, joy comes from travelling to new lands and enjoying new experiences.
From internet speed to, the cost of living to the average working hours, the team analysed the data to find average scores and then ranked them in order.
Here are the top ten cities for workcations:
- Kansas, US
- Vienna, Austria
- Wellington, New Zeland
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Edinburgh, UK
- Victoria, Canada
- Perth, Australia
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Brisbane, Australia
- Helsinki, Finland
A traveller’s guide to jet lag
To help travellers make the most of their trip, Icelandair have put together a guide to jet lag for those whose dream destinations cross time zones.
Depending on which direction you’re travelling in, the way you experience jet lag, especially changes in sleeping patterns, will be different. This is because you are either moving to a time zone that is several hours behind, or one that is ahead.
Westward travel (time zone behind)
Generally, experience early awakening (pre-dawn) and uncharacteristic sleepiness in the evenings.
Eastward travel (time zone ahead)
Difficulty sleeping in the new destination at bedtime and difficulty waking up in the morning.
Same time zone
Very few to no problems
Travellers generally find eastward travel harder than westward as it’s easier to delay your internal clock than advance it.
Looking after yourself during long-haul flights
Before you even get to your destination, the process of taking a long haul flight can be a draining one. From preparing properly before you travel to making sure you are drinking enough during the flight, we have some tips to help make sure your journey is as comfortable as it can be.
Before you even get to your destination, the process of taking a long haul flight can be a draining one. From preparing properly before you travel to making sure you are drinking enough during the flight, we have some tips to help make sure your journey is as comfortable as it can be.
- Prep before you leave. Try adjusting your sleep pattern to your new time zone early. If you’re travelling west, aim to sleep an hour later, and if you’re going east aim to go to sleep an hour earlier.
- Arrive early. Allow 1–2 days between arriving and any important meetings or events you may be attending to allow your body time to adjust to the new time zone.
- Plan your arrival time. Aim to arrive in the early evening and to stay up till at least 10pm. This will help you to get into local sleep-wake times as soon as possible.
- Stay hydrated. The cabin air can be particularly drying, so be sure to drink lots of water before, during and after your flight to counter its effects. Dehydration is known to make jet lag worse too, so it’s particularly key here to stay hydrated.
- Regulate meal times. To avoid feeling hungry at irregular times in your destination time zone, try to eat meals closer to the time you’ll be eating them when you arrive.
- Be prepared. Getting a good night’s sleep once you’ve arrived can be tricky in a new environment. Bring earplugs and an eye mask to reduce any unwanted noise and block out unwanted light.
