10 Tips For Surviving A Long-Haul Flight juni 20, 2022 – Posted in: Travel – Tags: City Breaks, Holiday, Packing Lists, Travel Tips, Vacation
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HOW TO AVOID GOING CRAZY ON A LONG FLIGHT
The lady next to you does her nails, with nail dust flying into your drink. The man in front of you insists on leaning back his seat so much that you can’t eat your food. A baby is screaming. As Jean Paul Sartre has so beautifully put it: Hell is other people. If you have ever been on a long-haul flight, you’ll eventually realize the pure truth of this statement.
And even though the other passengers behave well, there are still the many boring hours on the plane. Here you have to entertain yourself while sitting completely still. So how do you maintain your sanity on a long-haul flight, or, even better, how do you get the most comfortable flight?
10 TIPS FOR A COMFORTABLE FLIGHT
When you land at your destination, you should be ready to start your holiday right away – and not spend the first few days resting. Long flights can be draining, so how do you get the most out of it? And what do you need to pack for a long flight?
SLEEP IS IMPORTANT
On the long journeys it is possible to sleep along the way. The light is turned off and here you do yourself a big favor if you can cut a few hours of the long journey with a nap. So get confy with the neck pillow, put on a sleeping mask and pull the blanket up around your chin. If the sleeping mask doesn’t help, make a “hoodie” of your blanket and pull it up over your head so that you shut out all lights and sounds.
AVOID SWOLLEN LEGS ON THE FLIGHT
The longer the flight, the greater the risk of getting swollen legs. Even if you are sitting comfortably and have fallen into a deep sleep, you should still force yourself out of the seat and on a short walk in the plane, at least every 1-2 hours. Also remember to do venous pump exercises.
If you easily gets swollen sausage fingers when the temperature gets above 20 degrees on a summer day, talk to your doctor. In addition to encouraging you to walking around as much as possible and doing stretching exercises, your doctor will probably advise you to invest in a pair of compression stockings.
TURN OFF THE NOISE
Even on a long flight without baby crying and a neighbor insisting on talking, there is still the noise from the plane. Once you’ve tried to shut the noise out with a pair of noise canceling headphones, you also know how much noise there is in an airplane. Earplugs are good enough, but they don’t remove the humming background noise that the aircraft’s engines make.
FOOD AND DRINKS
Airplane food is an important part of a long flight. Not so much what is being served, but more because the regular servings provide necessary breaks during some otherwise really boring hours. No matter how miserable the flight food is, it is still islands of excitement in the endless sea of boredom of the flight.
Also remember to pack plenty of snacks, both if the flight food should be completely lousy, and just as much to have something to fight the boredom.
Drink plenty of fluids along the flight, as the humidity in the plane is much lower than on the ground. Say yes to all the drinks you are offered, but go easy on the alcohol, which can be diuretic. Settle on a single beer or a glass of wine for the meal.
ENTERTAINMENT
Just as food can break the endless boredom, it is also important that you have something to entertain you on the trip. Check in advance if there are any films on board the aircraft. You can do this by google the aircraft type and then “Entertainment system”.
HANG IN THERE!
When you have eaten all your sweets… when you have had a nap… when all meals have been served… and when you have solved all your cross words and there are still three more hours before landing – that’s when the real test is. We are used to a life where everything goes fast and where we can just pick up the phone when we get bored.
On a long flight, you just have to endure the boredom. Instead of getting restless and annoyed, take the time to just be. Look out the window, consider where you should eat when you get out and enjoy that right now you need nothing. If you’re about to go insane with boredom, then stay strong the venous pump and pelvic floor exercises. Even if you are still bored, at least you reach the destination with a well-trained pelvic floor.