ArcaMax

"The discomfort of long flights goes beyond cramped positions -- there's also dry air that can make your throat, nose, and skin feel dry, and air pressure changes while ascending and descending that can affect your sinuses."

Ward writes that according to physician Michael J. Manyak, "about 50 percent of the air circulating in-flight is pulled in from outside the plane at high and dry altitudes -- so it's generally far less humid than what you're used to breathing on the ground. This environment can cause your eyes, nose, and mouth to feel excessively dry. ... Some respiratory conditions like asthma can be exacerbated by cold, dry air," but drinking water before and during flights can "help to keep you more comfortable and improve your circulation."

"If you don't get the opportunity to move around," Ward adds, "you're holding a position ... which leads to soreness." Ward writes that according to Laleh Gharahbaghian, a physician and clinical professor of emergency medicine at Stanford University, "Getting up to walk up and down the aisle when it's safe or even adjusting your body and doing things like heel raises while seated can help."

Sitting for long periods affects digestion, adds Kevin Lees, director of chiropractic operations at The Joint Chiropractic. According to Lees, Ward writes, "the movement of food slows on its way through the intestines."

"This is one of the reasons why we try to get patients up and walking soon after surgery" says Manyak. It is also good for circulation and wound healing." According to Ward, Lee adds, "Most injuries can feel worse after sitting for a long period, since inflammation can build without movement to flush it out."

"The worst (consequence) is deep venous thrombosis (DVT), or getting a blood clot in the legs," says Gharahbaghian. "If a blood clot goes from your legs to your lungs, it can become a life-threatening problem."

Ward writes that according to Manyak, "Getting up to walk the aisles every hour or so during a flight, doing heel raises while at your seat and wearing compression socks, which improve circulation in the legs, are a few of the things you can do to keep blood from pooling in your lower extremities on long flights."

"The biggest thing that causes discomfort for travelers during a long haul flight is the fact that you're not moving," he says.

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