Summer’s here and the Festival Season is upon us. Some of you may have already checked off Glastonbury or Park Life, some of you may be looking forward to Bestival or V or Womad… Going to festivals is a highlight of the summer for so many people. What makes it special is the unique experience. Where else does it become fun to be deprived of a hot shower or carry loo roll on you at all times? The mix of camping, music and the general atmosphere makes it a very different and special sort of break.
What can be that bit harder is making sure you don’t return home feeling completely run down. While the adrenaline will keep you buzzing through the festival itself, it’s easy to finish and feel complete wiped out. It’s not hard to check why: do a festival ‘properly’ and there’s a lot that your body needs to recover from! Eight hours of sleep and remembering to take your multivitamins falls by the wayside when you are still recovering from the joy of seeing your favourite headliner, whether this year it’s Kanye, Calvin Harris or Duran Duran… It’s understandable!
The lack of availability of proper nutrition that is often the case at festivals can be a key contributor to this. It’s easy to keep fuelling up on the chips, burgers and other readily available fast food throughout the festival – it’ll stave off hunger but your body won’t thank you for it! Taking care of your teeth also becomes a lot harder and many find it easy to neglect their normal dental routine.
So what can you do to preserve the health of your mouth while still enjoying your festival experience?
Preparation will stand you in good stead. Remembering your fluoride toothpaste and bringing bottled water and taking the time to brush your teeth when waking and before getting into your tent at night will help prevent the tooth decay that too much junk food risks. If that’s too inconvenient, mouthwash is the perfect portable item for quickly swilling and going some way to protecting your teeth. If you can, try and remember to bring a few healthy snacks – your teeth will thank you in the end and so will your wallet!