Traveling long distances like going out of town or even abroad will certainly be fun. Besides we can see a different place compared to what we normally see every day, we can also meet people or even other cultures that are very interesting. Unfortunately, traveling long distances often makes us tired or even sick. A question arises, does traveling long distances have side effects that make us easily sick?
Health expert Catherine Forest said that if most people think that the length of time traveled to how often we travel is the main trigger of the ease with which we fall ill. However, this turned out to be incorrect. There are two other factors that actually play a role in the ease of people who travel far to get sick, namely exposure to bacteria and also lack of sleep.
Forest said that if we didn’t realize it, when we traveled far we would meet more people than before. For example, if we were to use public transportation, of course we would gather from people from other places who could have brought a virus that previously only endemic in their home region. In addition, people in the places we visit can also carry some bacteria that will move to the body.
Those who travel long distances also tend to experience sleep deprivation. How comfortable is the vehicle that we use, there is a tendency to easily wake up or even not close your eyes even though the body feels tired and not fit. This will certainly reduce the immune system so that we will also be more susceptible to exposure to bacteria or viruses that cause disease. This is in accordance with the results of a study in 2009 which states that if sleep deprivation during long distance travel is the main trigger for the decline in body health conditions.