Should you stay hydrated on a plane?

Drink enough water According to the World Health Organization (WHO), you should drink about 250 ml of water per hour of flight time, or more if you feel thirsty. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and sugary drinks, as they can dehydrate you and disrupt your sleep cycle.



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Deep and sustained hydration requires electrolytes. To keep your mineral levels, water levels, and energy levels on the up-and-up, our favorite in-flight wellness hack of all time includes packing LMNT stick packs into every carry-on.

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“Probably the best thing you can do before (and during) your flight is drink water,” says Aviva Rubin, MS, RDN. “Water prevents dehydration and reduces jet lag while keeping you from feeling lethargic.” Keeping yourself sufficiently hydrated is a simple way to get your flight off on the right foot.

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The average 70kg human body has around 43 liters of water at normal levels. This means that if you were to lose the 2 liters of H20 from water loss alone when you fly, you'd be saying goodbye to almost 5% of your fluid volume. That's more than 3x the amount of water loss that qualifies for mild dehydration.

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“Most flight attendants won't drink the tap water, coffee, or tea,” said Whytney before noting that the latter two options also tend to dehydrate — another reason to stay away from them while traveling.

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Per Aerospace Medical Association, passengers should aim to drink roughly eight ounces of water every hour spent in the air. “As a flight attendant, the medical staff tells us we have to drink one liter of water for every four hours of flying,” one Air France crew member confirmed to The Sun.

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Eric Rimm, an associate professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, tells Health Magazine: Since there's less water in your blood when you're dehydrated, the concentration of alcohol will be slightly higher, leading to quicker intoxication and increased potential for a hangover. Still, many a ...

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“When we fly our skin becomes dehydrated, especially on long-haul flights,” explains Consultant Dermatologist Dr Justine Hextall. “Essentially the recycled air in the cabin is incredibly drying.

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Flight attendants spend more time in the air than anyone. All of those high-altitude trips can leave them feeling pretty dehydrated. Attendants are busy while the plane is in the air; they don't always have time to drink the water they need.

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Prioritize rest. After a serious time-zone change, “I love to take a nap,” says Kristal Hicks of Top Tier Travel Group. Even if you're someone who can sleep on planes, a proper nap in a bed feels more restful, because you get to extend your body, Hicks says.

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It should come as no surprise that the healthiest thing to drink on a plane is water, which also happens to be the healthiest thing to drink on land.

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It can be tempting to load up on caffeine or alcohol to pass the time while in the air—but avoiding the temptation will help keep you hydrated and make it a whole lot easier to fall asleep when it's time for lights out. It's better to drink herbal tea to achieve a soothing effect and sleep better on the plane.

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Jet belly: (noun) the bloated state in which your stomach inflates post-flight. Also, a very unpleasant feeling. May also make you look like you're 3 months pregnant. So how does one prevent this jet belly? Well, it all depends on what you eat on the plane.

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The main aspect of in-flight health that most of us will encounter is tiredness and changes to circadian rhythms. Flying often involves getting up at unsociable hours, inadequate sleep and messing up the body clock — all of which leave us more susceptible to being hit nastily by any bugs that may be floating about.

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A more conservative approach is to wait 24 hours from the last use of alcohol before flying. This is especially true if intoxication occurred or if you plan to fly IFR.

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