#Airplane flying full#

Decline carbonated beverages, which are full of gas. Her advice? Take a pass on cold foods, such as raw salads, in favor of warm nourishment. In other words, says Raichur, with Vata energy already exaggerated in the airplane cabin, it's important to make choices that decrease Vata. That's because, according to Ayurvedic principles, being in the air parallels Vata, a particular Ayurvedic constitution that is dry, does not like the cold, and denotes a delicate digestive system.

#Airplane flying skin#

Pratima Raichur, a chemist, botanist, and aesthetician who owns Pratima Ayurvedic Skin Care in New York, advises against drinking ice-cold or cold water. 'If you just keep drinking water you will be fine, because you have to get up and use the lavatory,' Kaminoff says. There's another way to encourage movement. Something as simple as tapping the feet will do nicely this type of movement will also create movement in the shins and thighs, and even in the hip joint. 'Your calves are often called your second heart because of the role they play in helping pump venous blood from the lower extremities,' he notes. Kaminoff does not advise the kind of exertion that comes from doing 'deep knee bends in the back of the plane.' Instead, he encourages plane travelers to contract their calf muscles. The only thing that gets that venous blood from the lower body back up to the heart is muscle contraction.'

'The deep veins in your legs have one-way valves, where blood can only move toward the heart. 'You want to create a situation where your legs are moving and the muscles are contracting,' says Kaminoff. Other risks for developing leg clots include dehydration and low cabin pressure, according to the American Heart Association. Periods of immobility increase the risk of DVTs because sitting and leg room are cramped. It's also known as 'economy-class syndrome' - a condition often brought about during long flights. Be ActiveĪnother risk during air travel is developing leg clots or deep vein thrombosis ( DVT). He suggests long, easy, deep breaths.īut relaxed, efficient breathing is not enough. This puts an added load on the system, which is trying to get the required amount of oxygen into the bloodstream.'Īnother factor that may disturb breathing is the air's diminished humidity, which is generally below 25%, in contrast to a comfortable home environment where the humidity level is at about 35%, says Kaminoff. In the cabin, there's less available oxygen in the air. 'People don't realize they're at 8,000 feet of pressure and breathing is more labored. 'Just sitting and breathing in that environment is a challenge to the system,' Kaminoff says. Kaminoff points out that the pressure in an airplane cabin at cruising altitude may make passengers feel like they are at about 8,000 feet, as though they were high up in the mountains.

'The important thing people need to realize about an airplane cabin is it's really not a healthy environment,' says Leslie Kaminoff, a yoga therapist and breathing specialist in New York. But if they haven't prepared well, that time in the sky - anywhere from a couple of hours to the equivalent of a day or more when crossing hemispheres and multiple time zones - can actually be, as far as the human body is concerned, a sojourn to hell. The only thing separating many travelers from their energy-sapping work environment and that longed-for annual restorative vacation is an airplane ride.