Lately I’ve been doing a fair amount of traveling which has involved some pretty long flights. This made me consider, what is the best way to make these flights more tolerable? Here is what I came up with:

1. Make a bag of trail mix for the flight. Did you know that you can bring food from home on the plane? Go to your local Co-op and make a bag of delicious trail mix including organic nuts, seeds and dried fruit. This allows you to snack every couple hours since most airlines no longer provide meals.

2. Drink water! Make sure to either bring an empty water bottle to fill or buy one at the airport and drink water throughout the flight. Every time the beverage cart goes by order an additional glass of water, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Flying dehydrates your body, which can put you at risk for getting sick.

3. Walk around. All that water might make you need to get up and use the bathroom. Great! This is a perfect time to get up and do a lap or two around the plane.

4. Stretch it out! Have you ever noticed that your feet get puffy at the end of the flight? The best way to remedy this is kneel down while keeping your toes flexed, opening the soles of your feet and hold for 30 seconds. Stretching out your calf muscles and hamstrings is important as well to make sure blood flow doesn’t remain stagnant in the lower extremities.