Holiday Travel Tip #3: Do Airplane Yoga

If your travel plans call for a long flight, try Airplane Yoga to help you preserve your health and sanity:

Very long periods of in-flight inactivity can lead to "coach-class syndrome" (medically known as deep-vein thrombosis). This condition can actually become dangerous, leading to (yikes!) a pulmonary embolism if a blood clot breaks away and lodges in the lungs. Tightly-arranged coach class seats just make the condition worse, and here's the kicker: the longer you remain seated, the greater your risk of developing this condition, with the risk being greatest on flights 12 hours or longer.

Only about 1 in every 2.4 million passengers actually develops a blot clot. Some people, higher at risk, wear special compression socks that improve blood flow to the lower half of your body. But you can do other things to lower your risk of developing these conditions. Most research shows that the people who develop pulmonary embolisms generally sit through the entire flight. So, just getting up and walking around during long flights can really help.

It's also crucial to drink lots of water and juice and keep your body well hydrated. As we all know, that stale airplane air does have dehydrating effects, and dehydration increases the chances of a blood clot. Avoid caffeine and alcohol because they increase dehydration and pull fluid out of your blood.