As we all know, long-haul travel has become much more popular over the years. In fact, there’s even an argument that it is more accessible than it has ever been before.

We have been used to budget airlines for short trips, but this is starting to become the practice for longer vacations now. As such, more and more of us are flying long-haul.

However, when you do take to the sky for such a long period of time, it wreaks havoc with your body. This is what today’s article is about, as we take a look at some key tips that you should take into account the next time you take to a long-haul flight.

First and foremost – the paperwork

Before we jump into some actionable health tips, let’s firstly look at the paperwork. As we have already discussed, traveling for such a long period is not easy on your body.

If the worst does happen and you need medical care, this can be something of a grey area. You might need it in your destination country, or in the very worst-case scenarios, in a country en-route.

This means that travel insurance is a must. Whether you require travel insurance with medical conditions or even just a basic form, make sure everything is in place before you depart.

Water is more important than ever before

We don’t need to tell you about the effects of dehydration – it’s there for all to see. What might surprise you are the humidity levels of a plane cabin though, with this equivalent to a tropical desert. As such, make hydration your priority as you board the plane. Take a large bottle of water, and try and resist the temptation of the free alcohol that most airlines serve.

Stay on top of your blood circulation

It doesn’t matter whether you are old or young – this is an issue that can affect everyone. Granted, the elderly tend to be more at risk, but if you notice that your feet or legs are started to inflame it’s already a sign that you haven’t got your blood circulation in order.

Being stuck in your seat for 12 hours is just asking for trouble – and you might be struck with a nasty condition before you have even set foot in your destination country. Instead, try and wander around the aisles as much as possible, while compression socks are another solution as well.

The air vents can help you

As we all know, illnesses tend to spread like the plague when you are on an airplane. What a lot of people don’t know at this point is that the air vents can be an invaluable tool in your battle to stay healthy on the plane.

Sure, they might be circulating air that contains all sorts of germs, but at least by having yours on you can start to deflect away some of the nasty bugs. Try and direct it to just in front of your face, while if you really want to slash the risk you could, of course, turn to a mask which is becoming more commonplace amongst tourists on planes.