Health

Travel stress free

Unfortunately, going into business on your own often means hard-work, long hours and usually a whole lot of travel; whether it’s travelling around Europe for international conferences or meeting an important client abroad, good travel preparation is crucial to lessen the agony of lack of sleep and stiff joints.

It doesn’t have to be Cabin Fever
Travel preparations plus long waits at the airport, customs and baggage handling often mean you’re likely to become more stressed than you should be. Here’s how to make it painless. The common factors that cause discomfort while travelling are usually;
-Dehydration
-Immobility
-Reduced oxygen availability
-Air expansion

The amount of oxygen available within the cabin may be slightly less than normal air. Although this difference will be tolerated well by most people, those who already have heart or lung problems may find it triggers symptoms. People with angina, for example, may find they experience chest pains because the heart isn't getting enough oxygen. Those with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may find their breathing becomes a little harder or wheezy. Also, too much coffee or alcohol can cause an irregular heart rhythm or palpitations. In addition, blood clots in the legs or lungs tend to make themselves known once the flight is over. Prolonged immobility and dehydration during the flight will make these more likely.

Although not life-threatening, these can also spoil the beginning or the end of a holiday. At aircraft cabin pressure, the air in body cavities expands. Favourite places for this to happen are the ears, sinuses and teeth, if tooth decay has caused erosion. This can result in severe pain.

In general, the air quality in planes isn't as good as the air outside, and air filters aren't always fully effective. This allows bacteria and viruses to spread easily from one person to another, which is why many people come home from their holiday with a cough or cold. Also, the air isn't humidified, which contributes to the body becoming dehydrated. There's no guarantee that you won’t pick up an infection such as a cough or cold, but you can lessen your chances of becoming a victim of these.
Keep your immune system strong by getting enough sleep and relaxation, eat a healthy diet that’s rich in fruit and vegetables, exercise regularly, and don’t smoke. Wash your hands regularly during the flight as you may come into contact with contaminated surfaces whilst moving around the cabin - if this isn’t easy then use a travel hand-sanitizer. Encourage those who are coughing and sneezing to cover their mouth and nose when doing so with a disposable tissue.

The relaxation response
You can’t avoid all stress, but you can counteract its negative effects by learning how to evoke the relaxation response, a state of deep rest that is the polar opposite of the stress response.

The stress response floods your body with chemicals that prepare you for “fight or flight.” But while the stress response is helpful in true emergency situations where you must be alert, it wears your body down when constantly activated. The relaxation response brings your system back into balance: deepening your breathing, reducing stress hormones, slowing down your heart rate and blood pressure, and relaxing your muscles. In addition to its calming physical effects, research shows that the relaxation response also increases energy and focus, combats illness, relieves aches and pains, heightens problem-solving abilities, and boosts motivation and productivity. Best of all – with a little practice – anyone can reap these benefits.

Starting a relaxation practice
A variety of relaxation techniques help you achieve the relaxation response. Those whose stress-busting benefits have been widely studied include deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, visualization, yoga, and tai chi.

Learning the basics of these relaxation techniques isn’t difficult. But it takes practice to truly harness their stress-relieving power: daily practice, in fact. Most stress experts recommend setting aside at least 10 to 20 minutes a day for your relaxation practice. If you’d like to get even more stress relief, aim for 30 minutes to an hour.

Deep breathing for stress relief
With its focus on full, cleansing breaths, deep breathing is a simple, yet powerful, relaxation technique. It’s easy to learn, can be practiced almost anywhere, and provides a quick way to get your stress levels in check. Deep breathing is the cornerstone of many other relaxation practices, too, and can be combined with other relaxing elements such as aromatherapy and music. All you really need is a few minutes and a place tostretch out.

The key to deep breathing is to breathe deeply from the abdomen, getting as much fresh air as possible in your lungs. When you take deep breaths from the abdomen, rather than shallow breaths from your upper chest, you inhale more oxygen.

The more oxygen you get, the less tense, short of breath, and anxious you feel. So the next time you feel stressed, take a minute to slow down and breathe deeply:

Sit comfortably with your back straight. Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. Breathe in through your nose. The hand on your stomach should rise. The hand on your chest should move very little. Exhale through your mouth, pushing out as much air as you can while contracting your abdominal muscles.

The hand on your stomach should move in as you exhale, but your other hand should move very little. Continue to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try to inhale enough so that your lower abdomen rises and falls. Count slowly as you exhale. If you have a hard time breathing from your abdomen while sitting up, try lying on the floor.

Put a small book on your stomach, and try to breathe so that the book rises as you inhale and falls as you exhale. Progressive muscle relaxation for stress relief is another effective and widely used strategy for stress relief. It involves a two-step process in which you systematically tense and relax different muscle groups in the body.

With regular practice, progressive muscle relaxation gives you an intimate familiarity with what tension—as well as complete relaxation—feels like in different parts of the body.

This awareness helps you spot and counteract the first signs of the muscular tension that accompanies stress. And as your body relaxes, so will your mind.

You can combine deep breathing with progressive muscle relaxation for an additional level of relief
from stress.

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