How do you deal with a 5 hour flight?

How to cope with a 5 hour flight?

Long flight? Survive.

• Pre-flight: Shift sleep now.

• Entertainment: Download everything. Movies. Podcasts. Silence is a killer.

• Activity: Stay busy. Obsessively. Local language? Why not.

• Fuel: Bring snacks. Avoid airplane food. Trust me.

• Sleep: Drugs exist. Use them. I know.

• Self-care: Minor indulgences. Doesn't hurt.

Survive? Just.

I need another vacation soon. Been dealing w/ my sister's cats all week.

How to pass time on a 5 hour flight?

Five hours... a sigh escapes. Drifting, suspended. Time stretches, taffy-like.

Read. Worlds unfold. Pages rustle. A novel's embrace. Warm.

Sketch. Lines bloom. Shapes shift. A landscape born of clouds.

Music, yes. Listen. Beats pulse. Echoes of home, distant.

Games! Laughter bubbles. Play. A fleeting connection. Across aisles.

Movies flicker. Watch. Stories dance. Light and shadow play.

Guidebook pages turn. Read. Dreams of arrival ignite. Places I want to see soon.

Organize. Documents. Passports. A flutter of purpose. Landing nears.

Cards shuffle. Play. Luck's whisper. A moment's distraction is good.

More, there is always more:

• Meditate: Breathe deep. Find stillness.
• Write: Journal thoughts. Pour out feelings.

Five hours... a lifetime. Then, gone.

How do you make a long flight less miserable?

Ugh, long flights. I hate them. Last summer, July 2024, I was flying to Tokyo from JFK. 14 hours. Torture.

I tried to sleep, but that airplane air? It's just awful! Super dry, yuck!

I packed a huge water bottle and kept refilling it. That helped a bit, actually. Like, a lot a lot.

Loose clothes are essential. I was wearing these super comfy, like, almost pajama-like pants. Best decision ever!

• Hydration is key. Water, water, water!
• Comfy clothes. Think pajamas, but, you know, presentable.
• Snacks! The airline food is…well, you know.
• Entertainment! Download movies, bring a book.
• Walk around! Get up and stretch those legs.

The food situation! Oh my god! It’s always a disaster. So this time, I brought trail mix. Trail mix forever! It saved me from the airplane food demons.

Also, and this is important, get up and WALK. I walked up and down that aisle every couple of hours. My legs didn’t feel like concrete blocks when I landed. Yay.

How do you relieve ear pressure when flying?

Ugh, flying. Last July, Southwest flight 472 to Denver. My ears were killing me. Seriously, excruciating pain. It felt like someone was jamming a tiny, ice-cold knife into my eardrum. I tried everything—yawning, swallowing, even chewing gum—nothing worked.

Then I remembered the Valsalva maneuver. My doctor explained it to me, and I thought, "Yeah, yeah, I'll try it if I need to." Well, I needed to. Descent was the worst.

Pinching my nose, closed mouth, gentle blowing. It was weird, and my face felt all funny. I repeated it. And again. Finally, POP! Relief! Sweet, sweet, glorious relief. The pressure was gone. My ears didn't ring, which is awesome because it always does.

That flight was awful, otherwise, but the Valsalva maneuver saved me. Seriously, I almost considered getting off the plane.

Key points:

• Valsalva maneuver effective for ear pressure.
• Gentle blowing, pinched nose, closed mouth.
• Repeat during ascent and descent.
• Immediate relief.
• Southwest Flight 472, July 2024, Denver