Here are some tips, gleaned from previous travel experiences, for staying on a healthy track while you’re on the road!
Surviving Long Flights:
• Be sure to specify your meal preferences when booking your flight. All airlines offer a wide range of ‘special’ meal choices including vegetarian, vegan, raw food and gluten-free.
• Stay away from salty snacks because these just exacerbate the dehydration we all experience during aeroplane travel.
• After you’ve passed through the security screen, grab the largest bottle of water you can find in the airport stores and start sipping as soon as you’re on board. Not only does this combat dehydration, it also forces you to overcome the inertia that tends to set in on long flights.
• Always pack some herbal teabags in you carry-on luggage. When the flight attendants offer tea and coffee, just ask for hot water to make your own tea.
• Essential oils are helpful for combatting some of the unsavoury aspects of air travel. Inhaling essential oil of peppermint soothes airsickness (and other forms of travel sickness too). Clary sage is wonderful for inducing sleep when you’re feeling too wired to unwind, while lavender oil calms the jitters if you’re an anxious flyer.
• Finally, if you suffer from painful popping in your ears when you fly, do yourself a favour and pick up a pair of EarPlanes – cool little ear plugs that help to equalise the pressure on either side of your eardrums when the air cabin pressure changes as the altitude drops.
Article from Hopewood contributor Robyn Chuter.
