Airplane noise raises blood pressure

by Martha Edwards on

How do you feel when you hear the noise of a a few airplane engines firing up or flying overhead? For me, the sound is exhilarating–no doubt a result of my life-long love of flying. But for the majority of people, the noise of an airplane induces stress and raises blood pressure. In fact, being constantly exposed to airplane noise can lead to chronic stress and do irreparable damage to the health of your heart, according to this article.

This doesn’t just apply to those who fly frequently, either. People who live near airports and/or consistently have planes buzzing overhead are at an even higher risk for the health problems that airplane noise can lead to.

Live near an airport? According to Dr. Mats Rosenlund of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm: “People who are ‘constantly annoyed’ by airplane noise might want to consider a neighborhood more conducive to their overall happiness.”

Flu shots at the airport: It only takes a minute

by Jamie Rhein on

Here’s news I found out about through Intelligent Traveler who got the heads up from the Winging It blog at the denverpost.com. who got their info from the Associated Press. If you happen to be passing through several U.S. airports, right before you hit the gate, you can get a flu shot. Airports in Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco and Newark, N.J are participating so far.

This has turned out to be the biggest success for business types–frequent fliers who have no time to hit the doctor’s office between business meetings and traversing the globe. In the future, according to the AP article, cholesterol tests and blood pressure screening may be added to the list of things to do that you have no time for. Get your shoes shined and a little health fix. In the future, you also might be able to get other shots. A bit fuzzy on just how long ago that tetanus shot was? Maybe you can get that booster without putting it on your to-do list. Seeing the shot kiosk will remind you.

I wonder though if you’d need to have your shot records with you in that case? Someone with a hazy memory, like myself, might get a little too booster happy just “to be sure.” Maybe all the way to Cincinnati or somewhere else, people who didn’t stop to get the shot will fret and wonder if they should avoid rusty pieces of metal at all costs. Certainly, I can see how when the person sitting next to you is wadding used tissues and shoving them in the seat pocket or coughing particles, that flu shot you passed up might come back to haunt you.

Flu shots cost $15 to $35, only take a minute or two to get, and take 2 weeks to go into effect. Get one now, and you’ll be ready for flu season. With the recycled air on planes, that’s probably not a bad idea.

Big in Japan: Strange mental disorder confines Japanese youths to their rooms

by Matthew Firestone on

If you’re anything like me, you’re awed by the power and capacity of the human mind.

Mankind’s greatest asset, the mind has enabled our species to develop society and technology, and to rise above and beyond even our closest primate ancestors.

If you’re anything like me, you’re also terrified by the power of the capacity of the human mind.

Especially when things start to go wrong…

In all of my time over here in Asia, one of the craziest things I’ve heard about is a uniquely Japanese mental disorder known as hikikomori (??????????), which literally translates as “pulling away, being confined.”

Referred to by Western experts as acute social withdrawal, hikikomori describes youths who choose to completely withdraw from society by shutting themselves inside their parent’s house for years on end.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a case of hikikomori starts after a youth has remained inside a house for more than six months, though there have been recorded cases of self-imposed isolation extending for more than a decade.

At this point in the article, I am asking that you go outside for a minute, get some sun, and then come back to the computer when you’re ready. Trust me!

Are you back? Feeling a bit more relaxed and healthy? Good.

So, what exactly causes a young Japanese youth to voluntarily imprison themselves in their room for months on end.

(And no, the answer is not so they can play World of Warcraft in real-time!)

Often times, hikikomori start out when a child refuses to go to school, which is a common enough condition to warrant its own unique word in Japanese, namely tōkōkyohi (登校拒否).

As you’d imagine, the pressure to succeed in Japan can be intense, and few children are ready to leave the comfort of home for the angst-ridden classroom.

Japanese psychologists also point out that young adults may feel overwhelmed by Japanese society, and have difficult times fulfilling their expected social roles.

By confining themselves to the home, youths with hikikomori can set their own sleep schedules, and venture outdoors only at night when there is no one around.

Internet gaming has also become a popular escape from reality, especially since it allows for social contact without the pressure of spending face-to-face time with someone.

Needless to say, the stress on the family caused by a youth stricken with hikikomori is immeasurable. In a culture where parents are overprotective of their children, it can literally take months or even years before a family comes to term with the problem, and seeks out professional help.

In fact, most parents of hikikomori youths end up prolonging the inevitable by going out of their way to accommodate their children, either by sneaking their child food or hiding the severity of their child’s condition from family and friends. Sadly, few Japanese parents could ever imagine taking a stand against their children, and forcing them to reenter society.

On that note, I’ve been inside my apartment all day writing, so I think it’s time to take a quiet stroll through the park…

Tips for Avoiding the Airplane Cold

by Catherine Bodry on

Recycled air, low humidity and close quarters — all these factors make you 100 times more likely to catch a cold on a flight. So what can you do, save from wearing a surgical mask and rubber gloves?

Ed Hewitt on Msnbc.com offers some fairly common sense suggestions. For example, Hewitt’s first tip is to stay hydrated. I know this, yet all that free booze on international flights makes an 8-hour trip so much more enjoyable. Drinking lots of water might help you after the flight, but sometimes it’s the here and now that counts. It’s a touch choice.

Hewitt also recommends washing your hands. I’m sort of appalled that he even needs to suggest this — I’d like to think that most of us are washing our hands regularly. When I travel I also bring handi-wipes and hand sanitizer for convenience — and no, I’m not a germaphobe. It’s just easier to sanitize than wash, dry, use a paper towel to open the restroom door so you don’t re-contaminate your hands, hold door with your leg while tossing the paper towel away, etc.

One unexpected tip is to use mouthwash to kill germs and add another layer of protection while also keeping your throat moist. Remember to carry nothing larger than a 3oz bottle.

How do you stay healthy on a flight?

Documented Proof that Travel is Healthy for you!

by Neil Woodburn on

It’s a no-brainer that travel is good for you. But just in case you doubt this generally held belief, there are numerous studies which prove that this is indeed the case.

A great article in last week’s Los Angeles Times Health section by Karen Ravn dissects the medical literature and research on the topic and has good news to share with us–at least those of us who vacation regularly.

In short, she reports that those who vacation are “less likely to have heart attacks…report lower levels of stress and depression and… may even be happier in their marriages.”

Not too bad!

Ravn quotes from a variety of sources. Much of the research focuses on the stress of daily life and how a respite from that stress–i.e. a vacation–has quantifiable health benefits for those who take advantage of this.

By “periodically winding down and recuperating from stress,” she writes, “people may be able to escape its bad consequences.” In other words, those who vacationed more often, experienced lower blood pressure and less risk of heart attacks than the stick-in-the-mud control groups who stayed at home.

It’s not all good news, however. Studies have indicated that heart attacks are quite common the first two days of vacation–there’s nothing like trying to catch your flight, find your hotel, and navigate through foreign customs to really get the old stress ticker pumping. But once you get past that first shock to your system, it’s all good.

For a more detailed look into the healthy benefits of travel, click here to read the whole article.