5 Things Not to do Before a Long Flight

Taking a long flight is always hard, especially on your body. Flying from New York to London is about 6-7 hours and London to Sao Paolo is a 14 hour journey! It’s almost common sense that sitting for all that time isn’t exactly healthy for someone. So when you’re planning for a long flight there are a few things to keep in mind that you shouldn’t do. Granted everyone is different, and if you’re an avid traveler then you most likely have your ways and know what works for you. But what works for you may or may not work for others. These are just a few tips that I’ve picked up while traveling.

1. Avoid Partying and Staying Up Late

Don’t Party! Going out partying the night before a flight of any length is brutal! Staying out late and not getting a good nights rest won’t help with the jetlag after the flight either. Don’t make it worse. But to be honest, I usually stay up late, and try not to sleep too much. I try and change my body to the time zone I am traveling to. I only do this because I’d rather sleep on a flight than be up for so many hours. Time usually fly’s when you’re sleeping.

2. Drinking

This is a hard one. It probably isn’t the best thing to do, but I (personally) only have 1-2 glasses of wine the night before a flight. I don’t agree with getting hard core drunk on the night before a flight. Trust me, it isn’t fun. When you drink you’re dehydrating your body. The best thing to do is drink a lot of water before a long flight and rest. There is nothing fun about boarding a flight with a hangover!

3. Heavy Foods

Avoid eating heavy foods, especially spicy foods and foods that you wouldn’t even normally eat. Eating something that could really upset your stomach, or give you something worse like food poisoning, isn’t fun. It’s best to eat healthy foods even if it’s just 24 hours before your trip, this could help a lot! I am a firm believer that what you eat helps a lot with your jetlag and how your body feels during the flight.

4. Over Exercise

I am all about working out and working out before a flight is a good thing! But you shouldn’t push yourself. If you’re going to be sitting for a long time, you don’t want to be sitting in pain. If you don’t work out on the regular, then working out before a flight isn’t best. I usually recommend Yoga or a light jog. I find that a yoga class is really relaxing and helps with the breathing before a flight.

5. Overuse Your Computer and Watching TV

This is a tricky one. If I know I want to sleep during a flight then pulling an all-nighter working on my computer or watching TV isn’t an issue. But if I know that I would much rather be working on a long flight rather than sleeping, then I will try not to use the computer too much before a flight. No matter what, being on a computer for too many hours can hurt your eyes and cause headaches, neither of which you’ll want to have happen on a long flight.

As I mentioned earlier, it really all depends on the type of traveler that you are and how often you travel. As a travel blogger, my second home is an airplane. I am always flying! I have my ways of dealing with jetlag a lot easier than other people. So until teleportation is invented, trust these tried and tested flying tips to make your next long haul flight a smooth one.

Main Image Photo Credit: © iStock/phaitoons

About the Author: Jen Morilla AKA The Social Girl Traveler is a 26-year-old Jersey girl. She is a travel junkie, pizza loving, and whiskey drinker, adventure freak! Jen quit her New York City corporate life and salary for a budget and a backpack in February of 2015. She believes in traveling with a purpose. Jen is fluent in 3 languages and has lived/studied/worked in 3 countries, traveled to 29 countries throughout 6 continents! Join her as she continues to travel the world and share her beautiful struggle, she calls: her life!