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Friday 24 June 2016

How To Handle Long Haul Flights

Long haul flights in economy are never the most fun activity and unless you have a money tree (why haven't they invented one yet?) you are unlikely to be able to afford an upgrade but never fear, here are my top tips for the long trips, so you can spend your flight getting excited about your holiday and land feeling refreshed.


Picking the best seat

I am the opposite to everyone, I love sitting by the window. I turn into a ninja when clambering over sleeping bodies without waking them but even I know that the window isn't where to sit! The best place to sit is the aisle. The aisle prevents the strong sun which, up in the sky can be really damaging and also allows you to get up and move around easily. If like me, you love the window and sleep against it too with your comfy neck pillow make sure that you do have sun cream on, sounds crazy but 54% of those UVA rays manage to get through the glass and only 50 minutes in the air is equal to around 20 minutes on a sun bed!

Staying Hydrated

I am a water drinking obsessive, if I don't have a bottle of water with me on a flight it makes me all nervous but for some people they can completely forget to stay hydrated. The plane environment can often have far less humidity than our body prefers (it can be up to 40% less!) so keeping on top of drinking water is the best way to stop this. Along with staying hydrated water will help your skin which is prone to going dry due to the recirculated air.

No Make Up

 I am all for wearing makeup on the plane but taking it off before reaching zzz land is really important in every day life but on a plane its even more important as your skin is already dehydrated. I use Clarins with a cotton wool pad to make sure I remove it all,  followed by my Dermologica 3 steps (find out about my routine here). The multi active toner in my routine also acts as a face spritz for hydrating , perfect to spray just after you add a little makeup once you wake up to give you the much needed moisture boost 10 hours in. A face mask the night before your flight is always a great idea too, my favourite is.

Remember Your Vitamins

Want to make sure you don't leave the plane with a cold? My advice, dose up on all your vitamins, especially vitamin C the day before, on and after your flight! Giving your immune system the full dose of all the vitamins it requires is brilliant, especially because airplane food isn't always the best and you can sometimes skip meals completely in the airport.

Healthy snacks

Having salty snacks on board can cause you to feel more dehydrated. The best thing to do is take your own snacks with you (just make sure you have eaten them all before you land, America don't like you bringing in apples or oranges, personal experience!). My favourite things to snack on are raisins, oranges, dried apricots/mango/pinapple, nature valley bar, cheese and crackers (so long as you have a solid box to keep them in), healthy muffin, or in my case, a blueberry one. If you like nuts and seeds these are obviously great. Having a healthy snack with you not only means you don't need to worry if you get a little peckish but also any delay means you already have a healthy alternative to the junk quick food you often find in airports. Hey, if you're feeling really prepared make a small salad/ acia bowl, just remember that you wont want it to be out of the fridge for too long, frozen yoghurt is another option, as by the time it defrosts, well, you will just have your favourite yoghurt you can mix with fruits etc.

Getting Some Shut Eye

The best way to leave the plane looking bright eyed and bushy tailed? Get some sleep! This isn't always easy to do but there are a few ways to improve your chances 
1. Have some ear plugs/ noise cancelling headphones to put in so you can't hear all the rustling and commotion around you. 
2. Investing in an eye mask so that when the cabin suddenly turns the lights on to hand out breakfast it doesn't have to wake you up if you're in deep slumber.
3. Always have a jumper. Even if you are heading to a tropical country, a jumper is always useful, whether you use it against the arm rest to stop it digging into your ribs, or wear it to keep you warm (planes can get pretty chilly sometimes) or to cover your face if you don't have an eye mask. I couldn't manage without mine for extra padding.
4. Neck pillows. The inflight pillows are OK but they are better to help prop you up, be used as a back rest, or if your seat is particularly hard, to help slow down your bum going numb. Having a neck cushion can mean that, what ever happens you will always have something relatively comfortable to lie your head on.
5. Comfy clothes are a must! With out any hesitation I always wear a pair of leggings, baggy top and jumper to the airport for long haul. It is never my most fashionable moment (paired with a hat and sunclassses it can look a little better) but I can move around in any way I want. If you can fly in jeans and enjoy it I salute you but for me comfort is the most important thing and that is not something I say very often.

Do Your Stretches

Keeping the blood flowing all around the body is really important, especially because, due to low pressure on board your circulation can take a hit and you are at greater risk of getting DVT (deep vein thrombosis) if sat down for over 4 hours in the sky. The easy solution is to get up and have a walk around. Do some light raises on your feet, take it in turn to point and flex each foot as well as raise your knees and if you're feeling really adventurous, neck rolls, head tilts, shoulder rolls and shrugs are also great to help prevent you from seizing up. If you're super organised having a tennis ball to roll your feet on in the flight can really help to prevent swelling too.

Have Enough Entertainment

Excited for all the films on the plane and then you get on to find you either don't have your own TV set or there is nothing on you want to see? Before you leave make sure you have at least one show on the Ipad, phone or laptop to keep you entertained, a puzzle book and a normal reading book as well. Having multiple activities to do means that you can pick what you want instead of feeling like you had no other choice and thus prevents the feeling that the flight has gone on forever. My favourite? Sudoku with a glamour mag and a good book. If I'm feeling really crazy I may even plan out a blog post on my laptop too.

Don't Stress

I am lucky that I don't get stressed when I fly, but for those that do my first tip would be to breath deeply. Add some lavender to your neck pillow or jumper and breathing in the scent will help you calm down. There are plenty of de-stressing scents out there to find. Concentrate on what you want to do on holiday and try to calm yourself. I have a brilliant meditation app on my phone called Simply Being. It is my "go to" when I need to destress and allows me to feel back in control of my body.

Photo credit: Holiday Feed

Sit Back

Now all that is left to do is to sit back, relax and try to enjoy the flight, hopefully you wont have the crying baby next to you or a sneezing man. Even if you do, at least you have given yourself the tools with earplugs and enough vitamin C to start an army. You really can take on any flight you want!

Do you like flying? What are your top tips for long haul flights? 

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