My Top 5 Ways to Beat Travel Weariness
July 24th, 2009 Posted in resources, travelWritten by Shanie
Have you experienced the excitement of being able to travel only to find yourself sick from the germs that were passed on to you via the air vents on the airplane?
Or maybe you found your back or neck in a painful state because of the less-than-comfortable plane seats?
I’ve experienced the joys of jetlag, muscle cramps and being uncomforatble on the 24 hour trip from Bariloche to Lake Tahoe. Especially in these times of media hype-inflated talk about Swine Flu, it is important to use all of the tools possible to stay healthy while traveling.
I decided to research what ways one could go about stopping the body abuse from flying. Here are the top five things that I found to help the weary traveler:
1. Don’t forget your Vaseline! Recommended to me by a favorite nurse; rub Vaseline in your nostrils at the beginning of a flight. This will kill any germs that you may breathe in as well as moisturize the air that passes through helping to combat the dry air of the plane.
2. Purchase a Good Vitamin Cocktail. It is vital to bump up your immune system when traveling and a strong vitamin concoction is always helpful. In the last ten years of traveling we have used Airborne. We have found it to be a fast acting vitamin immune system booster. It can be found at any grocery or health food store. I like to take one while waiting to board the plane and then every few hours thereafter.
3. Get on up! Get up out of the seat every few hours and walk around the cabin (only when the seat belt light is turned off though, of course). This helps to stimulate the wonderful working organism that the body is. The immune system and health over all will benefit from walking around every so often.
4. Stretch. This can be done while walking. Take advantage of the extra space in the back of the cabin to touch your toes, reach tall and do twisting motions. If you can’t get up try putting an ankle on the opposite leg’s knee. Lean forward. This stretches the hips. Rolling the neck from side to side and using the hand to gently press forward on the head at tight areas is another excellent exercise while sitting. Incorporating flexibility movements into your flight will help your body to loosen up and not feel so soar when arriving at desired destination.
5. Bring an eye and neck pillow. These two items are essential for the traveler. Rest is your greatest way to combat illness, boredom and anxiousness to arrive. The best way to aid slumber is with a silky, comfortable eye pillow that fits snugly around the head so it doesn’t fall off and a comfortable crescent moon shaped pillow to help the neck from kinking when nodding off.
Here’s to healthy travel!
3 Responses to “My Top 5 Ways to Beat Travel Weariness”
By Trey on Jul 24, 2024
Thanks for the travel tips. I had never heard the Vaseline trick before and I’ll be sure to try that on my next trip abroad. I don’t agree with number 2 about buying Airborne, though.
The company’s claims that the product fought germs and “boosted” the immune system were proven scientifically incorrect. As a result consumers recently won a class action lawsuit and received $23 million. So blog readers shouldn’t waste their money on it.
More about Airborne lawsuit for those interested: http://www.nytimes.com/inc_com/inc1204579617407.html?ref=smallbusiness
By Patagonia on Jul 25, 2024
Trey,
Thanks for the feedback. For us both, we have always used airborne and never gotten sick, so whether it is a placebo or the real thing isn’t too important to us.
Saludos, Jamie
By Patagonia on Jul 25, 2024
To add to Jamie’s comment…I guess what is more important is that one takes a good vitamin cocktail while traveling…
Cheers,
Shanie
P.S. Thanks Trey for your information and thoughts.