Fly Healthy

I travel very frequently and know all the perils of air travel, but after reading an eye opening article in Women’s Health I may invest in some hand sanitizer. Here are a few of their tips and mine to follow during this busy travel holiday season.

Flying at 37,000 feet can wreak havoc on your skin due to the low humidity in the cabin. I always drink a ton of water the day before I fly to try and hydrate. While in-flight I continue to drink water, which usually annoys the person sitting next to me because I have to goto the bathroom so much….. Invest in a facial mist (travel size only please) that you can spritz onto your face during the flight.  I usually do not wear much makeup when I fly either, instead I will apply a heavy moisturizer ( WAKE UP CALL is my favorite) and let it set like a treatment.

Now that we have our skin under control let’s get to keeping healthy in flight. There are 200 other people using the bathroom, GROSS. The odds of one of them having a virus is very high. WASH your hands and use hand sanitizer. I am usually not a big proponent of hand sanitizer but on planes it is a must! Norovirus, made famous in the news by making entire cruise ships sick, can linger in the bathrooms of airplanes. Door handles, faucets and even the flush button can have this extremely contagious virus hiding on them. Whether you choose a hand sanitizer or hand wipes make sure it is an alcohol based product.

What about jet lag? Some people are more prone to it than others and I find that trying to stay on your regular schedule helps. Eat when you get hungry and rest when you are tired.  Your body is a lot smart than you give it credit for.  Sunlight plays a major role in jet lag by helping you body and brain adjust to time differences. If you leave the west try to avoid sunlight in the morning but enjoy some in the afternoon and vice versa going the other way.  Again your natural rhythm and schedule is always the best. Listen to your body.

Don’t forget about your circulation.  On long flights make sure to get up and walk around and stretch a little.  Sitting for a prolonged period of time can cause stiffness and in some rare cases even a blood clot.  If you are prone to circulation issues try wearing compression socks.  I wear these to warm up before a race or marathon and when I fly. They are very warm and they keep your blood circulating. My favorite are Zensah in hot pink!

Travel safe this holiday season and please write in to us if you have any fun or informative travel tips to share!