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Keeping Healthy While Flying

By Coeli Carr
Stay healthy while flying
The only thing separating many travelers from their energy-sapping work environment and that longed-for annual restorative vacation is an airplane ride. 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 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. 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.

"Just sitting and breathing in that environment is a challenge to the system," Kaminoff says. "People don't realize they're at 8,000 feet of pressure and breathing is more labored. In the cabin, there's less available oxygen in the air. This puts an added load on the system, which is trying to get the required amount of oxygen into the bloodstream."

Another factor that may disturb breathing is the air's diminished humidity, which is generally below 25 percent, in contrast to a comfortable home environment where the humidity level is at about 35 percent, Kaminoff says. He suggests long, easy, deep breaths.

But relaxed, efficient breathing is not enough.

 




Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

Published August 11, 2005

SOURCES: Leslie Kaminoff, yoga therapist, New York. Pratima Raichur, owner, Pratima Ayurvedic Skin Care, New York. Laurie Steelsmith, naturopathic doctor, acupuncturist, Honolulu.

© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.