I’m a Wellness Editor and These Are the 9 Things I Always Pack In My Carry On

Over the past couple of years, I’ve developed a little bit of travel anxiety, like getting nervous on planes. Plus, traveling itself can be stressful, whether it’s sprinting across the airport on your (very brief) layover or your flight getting delayed (again). In addition to trying all the things (working with my therapist on airplane anxiety, meditating in the a.m. to calm stress levels, etc.), I love having these all-natural supplements on-hand that work in under an hour to help ease stress and reduce racing thoughts.

Bringing tea bags with me is one of my favorite travel hacks. Prices at the airport are so astronomical, a tea can be $4-$5 or a coffee can be upward of $8 or $9. Plus, the options (especially if you’re getting tea on the plane) are pretty limited. Peppermint tea is my favorite for travel because it relaxes stomach muscles, helping to improve digestion and ease bloat or cramping (which can be especially helpful after plane food or eating at weird hours). Most places at the airport will give you a cup of hot water for free, or you can ask for hot water on the plane, and then just add your bag. So convenient, healthy, and delicious!

I don’t go anywhere without this throat spray these days, and especially not on a plane where I am more likely to get sick. Taking this throat spray daily has made a world of a difference for my immune system (I haven’t really gotten sick since taking it, but knock on wood 100 times). I like to spray extra during travel days when my immune system is doing the lord’s work.

All my girls with gut issues get the struggle: You grabbed a bagel sandwich before hopping on the airplane, and you’re 20,000 feet in the air when your stomach starts feeling uncomfortably full, bloated, or crampy. I’ve found myself in an uncomfortable situation with painful travel bloat way too many times, so now I make sure to always have Arrae Bloat on me. With natural ingredients (including superpower herbs and digestive enzymes), these powerful little capsules are one of the only supplements that have ever actually worked to help my body digest food it doesn’t usually agree with (looking at you, bagel sandwich). I take it after eating any meal while traveling.

For a while, I felt annoyed by long plane rides and traveling so often–and would pay the $10 Wi-Fi fee to work through them in order to feel productive so I could tell myself it wasn’t wasted time. But I’ve totally changed my perspective and now see plane rides, car rides, etc. as a time to fully dedicate to myself. I believe you can turn any travel experience into self-care (unless you’re traveling with kids–IDK what that’s like, but I imagine it’s not very peaceful). I slather on my Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask, pull out a book that makes me feel inspired, and spend the extended period of time with no phone intentionally.

I am one of those people who doesn’t go anywhere without a snack. I will pack something to eat if I’m out running errands, even if just for a couple of hours, so you bet I have a snack handy when I’m traveling. I like to fuel up at the airport (read: the aforementioned bagel sandwich), but you should never feel like you have to eat whatever is available (and pay the astronomical airport prices) just because you don’t have options. Plus, you never know when you’re going to be hungry without options when traveling (you’re one flight delay away from skipping a meal). My favorite bar are these Perfect Bars, mainly because they are the tastiest I’ve ever tried, and they’re made up of real whole foods. They feel so much more satisfying to me than the average protein bar.

I can’t be separated from my lip balm–it is the most codependent relationship in my life. Especially in drying airplanes, I keep my lip balm in an outside pocket of my carry-on so its easily accessable for those 10 times I will want to reapply before landing. I love this lip balm for planes especially because it works more like a lip mask to seal the moisture for optimal hydration.

When it comes to traveling, I really stop caring about the way I appear to others and anything goes. If you see me in the middle seat of aisle 25 with eye masks on the entire flight, no you didn’t. I love an eye mask on planes because the dry air really dries out my skin, causing my under eyes to look dry and dull. Applying eye masks helps me land with brightened and hydrated skin so I look more refreshed than I feel. Dieux is always my go-to, with reusable eye patches (better for your wallet and the planet).

I’ve talked about how drying the airplane can be for your skin, but it also has an effect on your body. Between the dry air, long travel days, and forgetting to drink water, we can easily become dehydrated while traveling. These are my go-to electrolyte supplements (no added sugar, and made with natural ingredients unlike most other electrolyte supplements!), so I’ll add one packet to water whenever I’m on the plane or traveling in the car. Bonus: they’re great for skin health–you’ll walk off the plane with a glow before vacation even starts.