Comfort hacks for a long-haul flight-tired ones we know and love but still ignore
Don’t be caught shivering:
This has to be rule 101 for a comfy journey, right?Wear your thickest jacket on the flight. Not only does this save you precious luggage space, but you’ll be especially thankful when your blanket slithers to the floor in the middle of your nap, and you don’t wake up freezing, a couple of hours later.
And don’t forget those cozy socks.No one wants to be wearing their ‘sensible travel socks’ while they try to get cozy on a long flight. Swap those for some cozies, and snuggle up for a long ride.
Keep your essentials handy:
The first thing I do when I board is to open up my cabin bag and grab the first pouch I keep right on the top. This contains all the essential toiletries I’ll need throughout the flight and before I land, so I can leave the aircraft without looking and feeling like a zombie. Extra earphones, because I’ll 100% lose them, or at least an earbud sometime along the flight, a little snack to keep me going, and anything else this overthinker needs. I just can’t be bothered to keep standing up and grabbing these from the overhead compartment all through the flight, so storing them in the seat pocket in front of me, keeps me feeling 30% less lazy to grab these essentials.
Help you help yourself:
Balance and plan your sleep with the timezone of your destination. If you do need to sleep, help your body to adjust to the timezone. Look up some tips on beating jetlag and choose the ones that work for you. Eating and sleeping according to the new time zone will help you fight jetlag, and you will appreciate the difference it makes when you land. You suddenly won’t regret that inflight movie you missed, when you can begin your trip feeling well rested and fully alert. Unless of course, it’s daytime at the destination you’re heading towards, and it’s in your best interest to fight that nap. Well then, enjoy those in-flight movies in peace, you lucky thing!
Sometimes, you just got to move:
Despite how tempting it is to stay cozy in your seat, and nip into the washroom only when you have to before your come bounding back to your set, try and walk a little bit up and down the aisle if you can, even if it’s a few extra minutes while on your way to the washroom. If you can’t manage that, make sure you at least do little stretches of your limbs, neck, and shoulders while seated, so that you don’t feel too stiff later.
Trust your instincts, Download those movies, and create those playlists:
In flight, entertainment can get interrupted often, like during take-off, landing, and announcements. Since that whole process can sometimes take a little while, have some music or movies of your own at the ready. I always make sure I’m playing only for my downloaded music during take-off and landing-one of my biggest annoyances is the entertainment getting cut off right when I want it the most.
…However, screen-free time is always a win
Break travel time into activity slots so that you don’t get bored doing the same activity. Download a game or some podcasts onto your phone, read, write, sketch, colour, keep a puzzle book handy or an audiobook at the ready, to keep you entertained. It’s also nice to give your eyes a bit of a rest with some screen-free time, cause it’s so easy to forget we end up spending a massive amount of time on our screens as we travel. So yes, screen-free time is amazing. As our rehydrating eyedrops
Lastly, don’t forget to HYDRATE!
You want that empty reusable bottle for your water. You’ll love it as you wait around the airport, and can make good use of the refilling stations. And you’ll absolutely be loving it on the flight, especially since many airlines have ditched plastic bottles (yay!) in favour of little cups of water. The only downside is that they are usually only filled halfway, and unless you want to keep interrupting both your entertainment and the flight attendant several hundred times throughout the flight, you’ll be so thankful you’ve filled up your own additional bottle of water. You can also ask the flight attendants to refill it for you when they have a minute. You’ll be keeping those pesky headaches away, and your skin will thank you when you land.
So there you go.
There are my two cents.
Happy trails!