Ah, living the dream.
For most people, this means being able to travel to their dream destination.
Beaches, mountains, ruins; wherever your soul will be fulfilled.
Now, what if a millionaire offers to pay for all your travelling aspirations.
Only one condition: first, you have to fly continuously for a year, non-stop.
Clouds after clouds after clouds.
Would you say yes?
If you accepted, what would it be like?
(Crying babies all year in the seat behind you?
Let’s hope not…)
Jet lag would probably the first thing that comes to mind since this is the most familiar
side effect after a long flight.
If 6-8 hours make your head feel the weight of the world, then can you imagine what 365
days up in the air would do?
Well, honestly, this is the very least of your worries, considering everything else
flying does to your body.
Another common thing is air pressure.
Even if you’re not on an airplane, but maybe visiting some place with a high altitude,
you can experience an uncomfortable feeling in your ear, and even have difficulty hearing.
Yep, this is all due to air pressure.
It gets even worse during turbulence, since the pressure is also affected by it.
The good news is, swallowing or yawning helps with the discomfort.
So chewing gum while flying would be really helpful.
But could you chew gum for a year strait?
(how about yawning?)
Now, when you’re up in the sky, especially if you were able to get a seat beside the
window, you can’t help but to admire what you see outside, right?
However, this might make your stomach feel a little uneasy.
The lack of movement that’s being observed by your eyes will directly conflict with what
your inner ear is experiencing, sending mixed signals to your brain.
This contradiction will be the reason for your stomach ache.
If you’re the type of person who’s really sensitive to motion, the suggested seat for
you would be the one on the wings, since it’s steadier than any other seats on the plane.
No not ON the wings, that’s too windy.
I mean in a seat NEXT to the wings.
Feel better?
Now, if motion sickness isn’t an issue for you, but you’re still feeling like your
tummy hurts, it could be because of gas circulation in your body.
The pressure is still the one to blame for this one.
As you go higher in the air, the gas inside you expands, causing the unexpected ache that
you’re feeling.
It’ll help you a lot if you don’t try to hold the gas inside you though, since that
only makes you feel worse, and more bloated.
So go ahead and let it out.
It can be a good conversation starter!
And you can be pretty sure you’re not the only one who's feeling that way!
The trees and plants here on the ground offer more than enough oxygen to maintain our bodies.
Once you’re up in the air, stuck in a metal cylinder with no plants to rely on, the oxygen
level can be a little tricky.
Airplanes were designed to be able to handle the pressure.
But due to being above the horizon, your blood will absorb less oxygen than usual.
Also, if you’re going to be on a long flight for a lot of hours (8,760 hours in a year,
to be exact), you’ll be seated most of that time.
And when you’re body isn’t moving much for long periods of time, the blood in your
body won’t circulate very well either.
Surprisingly, this also decreases your oxygen levels.
No worries though, you might try walking around every two to three hours, just to make sure
that your body is getting enough circulation for your blood and oxygen.
And what about the meals?
Oh that’s coming up?
Okay…
Now, have you ever gotten annoyed with the airplane crew for reminding you about drinking
water during the flight?
Well, don’t be.
They’re actually doing it for your own good!
It’s been suggested that a healthy environment would have about 50 to 60 percent water vapor
present in the air.
Sadly, inside an airplane cabin, it can dip as low as 10 percent, which makes it drier
than the desert.
Due to this, dehydration is always a possibility.
Your eyes, lips and mouth might get dry.
And a headache isn’t out of the question.
The only solution?
Drinking lots and lots of water!
But if you’ll be flying for a year, can a cabin store enough water for you to stay
hydrated?
Yes, that’s definitely something to ponder.
Flying first class will not only give you a comfortable seat and fancy drinks, but also
dishes designed and prepared by famous chefs.
Unfortunately, when you’re up there, your taste buds may go numb.
Now you know why it seems like all the foods taste bland, like it was never seasoned; or
as if salt isn’t allowed inside the plane.
Actually, it was probably cooked and seasoned perfectly, it’s just that your palette isn’t
functioning like it usually does.
This is actually what researchers found out in 2010.
The dryness of the air up there will not only affect your hydration, but also mess with
your sense of smell.
And guess what: being able to smell food is essential for your brain to also recognize
how it tastes.
In an effort to actually make you feel like your food was cooked nicely, they make it
on the ground, but do a taste test up in the air.
See?
They’re trying their best to give you the finest service.
No matter how good they are at providing service, there are inevitable things that are out of
their control.
Like the spreading of viruses.
In a small confined space, flying thousands of feet in the air, there’s definitely no
way to make it as clean as the first day it flew.
Hence, germs are present, and the chances of coming in contact with them are higher.
This is why the Journal of Environmental Health Research also concluded that the risk of catching
colds is a hundred times higher when you’re on an airplane.
If you’re going to the beach, you might be expecting a sunburn.
But from now on, you may consider putting on sunscreen simply to ride a plane.
Up there, with the windows unprotected, up to 50 percent of UVA rays can come through,
exposing your skin.
Some studies have shown that spending 56 minutes at such an altitude is equal to spending 20
minutes tanning.
Don’t forget to take into account that all the information here was gathered through
long hours of flight.
But the condition that was offered to you was to fly for one whole year.
Try to imagine the worst jet lag, stomach ache, having no sense of taste, deprivation
of oxygen, and dehydration all year round.
Not to mention the gas!
Multiply all that by 365 days, and I guess you’ll be able to give an educated answer
to the opportunity that the millionaire has offered.
I’m guessing that right now, you’re already thinking about just saving up some money for
you to be able to achieve your travel goals on your own.
Any thoughts on perhaps haggling with the offer?
What do you think about the surprising effects of flying for a long time?
Were you amazed, or maybe worried?
Let me know down in the comments!
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