Staying Healthy on the Road
- Keep to your regular exercise schedule. If you don't have access to a gym, go for a walk every day, or pack a jump rope or exercise tubing.
- Read up on jet lag, and take steps to minimize its effects. When you arrive, go to sleep at the appropriate time for that time zone, even if it means spending the first day fatigued. Avoid alcoholic beverages while traveling.
- Don't fly when you are sick. If you must travel, switch to other modes of transport, if possible. Your seatmates will thank you, and if you have a cold or other respiratory infection, your ears will thank you as well.
- Stretch your legs: Stand up and walk around the cabin if you can, and avoid putting anything under the seat in front of you.
- Stay hydrated; drink plenty of juice or water, and wear eyeglasses instead of contacts to minimize irritation from dry air.
- Eat healthy foods and get plenty of sleep.
- Aerospace Medical Association "Useful Tips for Airline Travel" www.asma.org/Publication/Tips_For_Travelers2001.pdf
- Association of Flight Attendants, "Aircraft Air Quality and You"
- National Research Council, "The Airliner Cabin Environment and the Health of Passengers and Crew" www.nap.edu/books/0309082897/html
- Thomas Bettes and David McKenas, "Medical Advice for Commercial Air Travelers," American Family Physician, Sept. 1, 1999 www.aafp.org/afp/990901ap/801.html