Planning a long-distance flight to North America, Australia or some other faraway land? The anticipation of the upcoming trip is naturally great. But before you can really get started, you’re in for a long flight lasting between 10 and 20 hours. To make the long-haul flight as comfortable as possible, there are many practical tips. One of the biggest hurdles, however, is certainly getting through the endlessly long time sitting in the plane. When it comes to filling the many hours above the clouds in a meaningful way, some passengers reach their limits. Here are the best tips against boredom on the plane.
Time on the plane is ideal for practicing a variety of relaxation techniques. You can meditate, listen to a fantasy journey or relax your body without distractions.
There are now many great meditation apps that invite you to relax and meditate. It’s best to download the app before you fly. Whether it’s Body Scan, Loving Kindness Meditation or Mindfulness Meditation, all of these meditation techniques will help you relax your mind on the flight.
Of course, if you’re already a bit more practiced at meditating, you can meditate without an app or instructions. Did you know that meditation reduces stress and anxiety and lowers blood pressure? Especially if you are affected by fear of flying, you can benefit from meditation practice.
Tip: Pick a meditation exercise about 14 days before your flight and do it every day. Our brains love routines and the more often we do something, the easier it is for us to relax while doing it. Finally, once you do the meditation exercise on the plane, the brain switches to relaxation mode because it already knows what’s coming next.
Your body doesn’t come to rest at all on the flight? Perhaps Jacobson’s Progressive Muscle Relaxation is more suitable for you. PMR is based on the conscious tensing and relaxing of muscles. First you tense your muscles for 5 seconds and then you consciously relax them for 10 seconds. You work your way through the entire body step by step.
You start with the right foot, left foot, right lower leg, left lower leg, right upper leg and so on. PMR has a relaxing effect on body and mind and at the same time you do something good for your unbalanced muscles. Besides PMR, you can of course stand up from time to time, stretch your legs and get some activity.
Of course, you won’t kill your time on the plane with just meditations or PMR. It’s also important to have a customized entertainment program to make your time above the clouds as enjoyable as possible. Of course, the airline offers you an entertainment program. You can watch various movies or series to pass the time. If you don’t want to rely on this 100%, you can download your favorite movies, series or documentaries before departure.
Also, pack plenty of reading material. Reading is the classic cure for boredom on the plane. Of course, you don’t have to pack thick tomes and unnecessarily weigh down your luggage – lightweight e-readers have proven especially useful when traveling. This way, you have your entire library with you without having to carry a lot. Various magazines and journals are also practical. You prefer to listen to your favorite books? Then download enough podcasts and audio books in advance.
Okay, this probably doesn’t sound that appealing at first, but the plane is the ideal place to get some rather monotonous work done on your laptop. If you’ve been putting off certain things like accounting or other stuff before your trip, or just haven’t gotten around to it – now is the perfect time to do it.
After the flight, you’ll have these things done, too, and you can start your vacation completely relaxed. If you are a student, you can use the time to study. Or you can plan your upcoming trip in detail.
