Don't let a festival bring down your health with these tips
Festivals are so much fun - fantastic bands, uplifting community spirit, amazing times with friends, getting back to nature and hopefully lots of sun.
But what festival-goers often forget till the party’s over is that festivals can run you down and leave you severely depleted. So to help people avoid festival burn out this summer, leading natural health store Nutrition Centre have created a Festival Survival Guide, sharing hot tips for recovering after a long festive weekend.
Clare Galpin, Director of Nutrition Centre, says: “Festivals are the perfect opportunity to get outdoors, get away from it all and embrace the wild spirit of summer, soaking up wonderful music and dancing into the early hours. And with more than a hundred exciting festivals to choose from in the UK this summer, for many these festive fields of play will be a regular weekend stomping ground in the brighter months ahead.
“However, festivals can really put your body through its paces – relentless activity, partying late into the night, lack of sleep, too much sun, not eating properly - all these things tend to take their toll. Returning home when the party’s over, it can suddenly all catch up with you. With your immune system severely depleted, you can feel worn out, worse for wear, and be susceptible to ulcers, colds and bugs, so we’ve created this Festival Survival Guide to help you avoid festival burn out.”
1. Hydration
Firstly, take care to rehydrate your skin. Prolonged exposure to sun and drinking lots of alcohol can leave you dehydrated, so make sure you apply plenty of nourishing lotion to your skin. For a completely natural choice, Nutrition Centre recommends Green People After Sun which combines aloe vera with calendula, corn mint and chamomile to calm and cool your skin as well as moisturise; it's a good idea to take this with you to festivals in addition to a natural sunscreen so at the end of each day you can rehydrate your skin and are less likely to get burnt.
It's not just your skin that will suffer from dehydration, the rest of your body will need a helping hand too. So drinking plenty of water is vital, and if you want an extra boost, include some hydration tablets in your water.
2. Detoxing
Drinking too much alcohol over a festival can leave us feeling sluggish, tired, and bloated, so taking a Milk Thistle complex is a great way to support your body on the road to recovery, helping relieve the symptoms of any over indulgence on food and drink.
3. Exercise
Taking some gentle exercise after a festival is a great way to sweat out toxins, get re-grounded after all the relentless festivity and re-harmonise mind, body and spirit. Don’t do anything too strenuous as you may still be dehydrated, but yoga, pilates and swimming would all help.
4. Quality bath time
During rainier times when festivals get really muddy, it can be rejuvenating to spend some quality time in the bathroom when you get home. Have a luxurious bath or shower, and treat yourself to a detoxing face mask, such as Tomatoes Clear Skin Mask, which purifies the skin whilst moisturising it at the same time.
And don't forget to give your feet a treat! We tend to spend a lot of time on our feet at festivals which can be very wearying. So post shower/bath, you could try giving your feet a soak with a few drops of essential oils in the water; peppermint is a great choice as it will be reviving and cooling. And then using a soothing foot balm will be a sure way to leave your feet feeling refreshed and revived.
5. Food for the immune system
Fast food is standard fare at festivals – so your five a day are likely to be lacking unless you come prepared or make amends after the event. You can boost your energy and immune system levels by eating foods high in vitamins B and C – such as tomatoes, sunflower seeds, spinach, broccoli , carrots, yoghurt and wholegrain bread. Plenty of vegetables and fruit is essential for recovery, eat more than your five a day and drink lots of fruit juice. Home-made smoothies are an ideal way to get a full combination of fruity goodness all in one go. Bananas are great to snack on as they are naturally high in sugars while strawberries are good for boosting the detox enzymes in your liver. You can also boost your green food intake with Pukka Clean Greens - packed full of antioxidants, chlorophyll, vitamins, trace minerals and enzymes, used daily they can help purify and strengthen your whole body.
6. Sleep!
Be sure to allow yourself a few quiet nights in to catch up on sleep. A cup of chamomile tea before bed will help you wind down ready for a long night’s kip.
So enjoy a fantastic festival summer – taking a few careful measures after and between festivals will keep you healthy and vital and your battery fully charged so you can enjoy it all and survive the aftermath!
Tagged in Health