Flying without a spacesuit, who does that these days?

While watching the acclaimed Oscar nominated blockbuster film Gravity (2013), it struck me how reliant on technology built into their spacesuits, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney were, to successfully carry out their mission. 

As a frequent flier of sixteen years on short and long haul routes doing about 10,000 miles of flying week in week out it also struck me how unprepared most frequent fliers are today when taking to the world of global travel. Just as the environment in space required spacesuits for the astronauts to function properly, today's environment requires fliers to be suited for the travel environment they face. Clooney and co's success or  mission failure shows the importance of travelling with the right kit. Frequent fliers in the travel  environment of today would do well to follow their lead. Get kitted out to make your travel experience jet lag free.

What kind of kit is appropriate you might ask. 

Most travellers are content to bring a neck pillow, sleeping pills and/or portable entertainment. However to travel well consistently means looking past these items to specific technology to enable you to fly better and arrive well every time.

To the above list I would add as mandatory a quality pair of noise cancelling headphones, an entrainment app from the iTunes or Google Play store, wearable health technology tools like a Fitbit, an isotonic hydrating powder mix and tart cherries for a natural melatonin boost. In addition to these items I would pack a grounding sleep sheet from Barefoot Technology for my arrival and an exercise mat for yoga and stretching.

Most frequent flier don't have a comprehensive "spacesuit" to help them arrive well. The result is they leave their susceptibility to jet lag open to chance when they can routinely arrive feeling much better no matter how long the journey. Most fliers are still in the dark ages when it comes to staying healthy while travelling, coming prepared with your own tools is one way to land ready for business pleasure or that creative task you are faced with on arrival. After all travel is only a means to an end.

Wearable Tech and Productivity.

Healthy Wearables its all about the feedback

When Google Glass first debuted I was one of those wondering and (quietly scoffing) about the usefulness of this technology. More to the point I couldn't really see how it might be of any practical use to things that mattered to me in my life. I have since had to eat my words. Google Glass was the forerunner of many Wearables that have started taking the Tech world by storm. Health related wearable tech is the niche that got me to change my mind. Growing my health is an important subject, as I am sure it is for any intensive frequent flier. Compromised health means the inability to function on the road and zero productivity when it matters. Understanding the value of Wearables has allowed me to make the link between the status of my health and my productivity. I hope this short article allows you to realize similar value.

As a frequent flier getting feedback is key especially where my health is concerned. Frequent fliers go through multiple timezones, oxygen reduced aircraft cabins, shifting hormonal patterns and regular sleep deprivation, getting timely feedback is invaluable. Feedback and the ability to act on it is the difference between those who get results and those who get the results they want. The ability to act on feedback has just been brought to the fingertips of anyone who cares to take note.

I love to compare frequent fliers to athletes. Athletes train for competition and frequent fliers (in the know) train for the road. Athletic performance continues to improve over the years, through the use of feedback athletes get from technology. It is my hallucination that the lot of the frequent flier may be improved by following this same path. We all know that frequent travel is exhausting, and most solutions out there are only good for the short term if at all. Feedback through healthy Wearables allows fliers to monitor the basic health indicators which underpin productivity and creativity.  Being able to wear a device 24/7 which monitors sleep patterns, exercise, calorie consumption, movement, water consumption and steps gives you on the move information you can respond to.


Hydration, sleep and exercise are just some of the metrics measured by these gadgets, you can wear around your neck, wrist or slip into your pocket. Others measure exposure to chemical pollutants or electromagnetic radiation sources you may be exposed to. All in all the simplicity of use and the immediate feedback they give makes them ideal for life on the road. More importantly armed with this information you can adjust your schedule appropriately to refuel and recharge to avoid burnout.

In today's workplace where productivity, stress and burnout go hand in hand acute monitoring tools like this can be a godsend. It seems the usefulness of these tools is not lost on some forward thinking employers. I recently had to send my wearable off for a replacement. During the customer service process I was asked if I bought it myself or if it was provided to me by an employer program. Some employers have obviously recognised the benefit health related wearable tech can bring to their employees, multi-nationals and frequent fliers would do well to pick up on this trend too. For a small investment the returns can make all the difference in performance which can be the difference between success or failure.

Related articles

• Smartwear Technology Promises Healthier Lives
• Amazon launches wearable technology store in UK
• Wearable Devices The Next Step For BYOD, Unified Communications

Wearable Tech And Frequent Fliers, Are You Ready !

The analogy between Athletes and Frequent Fliers is a strong one to make, but a valid one when you consider how grueling global business travel can be. Athletes take the time to train for fitness and competition. Frequent fliers, especially road warriors should take time to train for fitness and the journey. The serious athlete is well aware of the value of feedback, to that end they employ a coach and technology to keep them progressing and competitive. While frequent fliers may not have access to a coach they can leverage technology to help them stay journey fit and healthy. This is made even easier today with the explosion of Wearable Technology. Wearable technology, specifically of the health monitoring variety means any frequent flier can get real time feedback on their health status and adjust accordingly.

What was once the preserve of the elite athlete and out of reach and price range of your average person has now become available to all and sundry. In this respect we are witnessing the sexing up of the humble pedometer.  Wearable technology (wearable tech for short) comes in all shapes and sizes with simplicity and sophistication in equal measure. Wearable tech gadgets can do anything from helping you reach daily physical activity goals to measuring sleep quality and duration, track water consumption, calorie consumption, weight gain or weight loss, as well as power napping and helping you monitor your exposure to ionizing radiation.

The wonders of wearable tech are made possible because of advances in technology and the simplification of the UI (User Interface)  all you need is a smartphone and your chosen gadget that is equally easy to wear on the wrist, in the pocket or around the neck and you are all set. Bluetooth and plug and play syncing options will do the job of keeping track of your progress.

All of these gadgets are available and useful to the frequent business flier and can make a worthwhile contribution to staying healthy while jetting around the world and encountering different time zones. In addition to this new crop of gadgets there are also some other items on the horizon or that have been around for a while which qualify as wearable tech which are also indispensable to healthy fliers. Include magnetic insoles which massage your meridian points on the soles of your feet in this category although you might want to call it low-tech wearable tech. You can also include a soon to be released power napping eye mask which will allow you to power nap to perfection, its timer wakes you by simulating a natural sunrise wake sequence. Another low-tech offering (yet to be released) is a silicon wristband which monitors pollution you are exposed to. Fliers concerned about Aero-toxic Syndrome and fume events when they fly could for instance use the band to monitor exactly what they are exposed to.

The options to get valuable feedback through wearable tech are increasing with the uses technology is being put to, it is only a matter of time before its use becomes the rule for frequent fliers instead of the exception. Apple's reported acquisition of Beats Electronics seems to be drawing criticism from the financial markets, but it could just be that Apple has acquired the last piece of its technology puzzle before it launches the iWatch. Whether Apple can turn the iWatch into that must-have wearable tech gadget we didn't know we needed remains to be seen. In the meantime frequent fliers without wearable tech will seem like astronauts in space without space suits, future generations will wonder how we ever managed without it.


Works Cited

Wearable Technology, wikipedia.com, Wikipedia Foundation, Web, Accessed May 18th 2014.

Steven G. O’Connell , Laurel D. Kincl , and Kim A. Anderson, Silicone Wristbands as Personal Passive Samplers, Environ.Sci.Technol., 2014, 48 (6), pp 3327-3335, Publication date (Web) February 18, 2014. Accessed May 18th 2014.

Mark DeCambre, Beats might just be the best platform for Apple's wearable tech, qz.com, May 12, 2014, Web. Accessed May 18th 2014.

Related articles

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Comfort yes or no?

In pursuit of a comfortable coach seat - http://pulse.me/s/pk5k8

Body Clock, Acclimatisation & Fliers.

Following my article "Why Frequent Fliers Should Take Exercise Seriously to Fly Better" posted on Ezinearticles.com (1st Aug 2013) I just want to offer some additional information business and frequent fliers can use to maximise their body clocks when travelling.

The information speaks to the principle I like to call Acclimatisation at my NoJetStress Clinic. Body clocks help us acclimatise to environments, especially so when we travel long distances. Getting back in sync after flying can become a problem if you are a frequent flier. If you want to stay healthy without resorting to stimulants and pharmaceuticals here are some solutions to the challenges out of sync body clocks pose to fliers.

CHALLENGES

Fatigue - Physiologically, flying is stressful on everyone regardless of which cabin you fly in.

Time of day challenged - Landing into daytime when your body is on nighttime and vice versa.

Sleep - Not getting enough quality sleep when you need it and want it for the purpose of your journey.


SOLUTIONS

Challenge - Fatigue
Action - Make rehydration a priority.
Best practices - Coconut water and Megahydrate supplement.

Challenge - Time of day.
Action - Reinforce local time markers to adapt quickly.
Best practices - When in Rome do as Romans do!

Challenge - Sleep
Action - Recreate your home sleep ritual on the road and stick to it.
Best practices - No late meals, No - bright lights, TV, phones, computers or laptops in bed, or ideally two hours before bed. Use red or orange hued light after dusk.


Additional Comments

Fatigue through dehydration is a common factor in flying, a two percent drop in hydration has been shown to affect productivity adversely.

Zeitgebers are internal and external cues we use to know what time it is wherever we are.
Seeking or shunning them can help reset the body clock.

Frequent fliers have their daily rhythms upset regularly by being on the road. The antidote is to create rhythm and rituals around the travel schedule as much as possible. Sleep rituals and exercise rituals are good ones to start with.


Additional Reading

Susan M Kleiner PhD, RD. Water : An essential but overlooked nutrient.
Journal of American Dietetic Association Vol 99, Issue 2, Feb 1999 Page 200-206.

John E Greenleaf and Fredrick Sargent. Voluntary dehydration in man
Journal of Applied Physiology July 1,1965, vol 20 no. 4, 719-724

Zeitgebers en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeber




- Christopher Babayode
gplus.to/thejetspert

Why The Threat of TSA Scanners Is Still With Us

English: TSA ProVision Xray machine screening a person (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Backscatter Unit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In May 2013 John Pistole the head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wrote a letter to the US Congress, confirming that the 1st of June deadline, for all its airport body scanners to be privacy compliant had been met. All airport scanners in the US will now use Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) software which only shows a generic image. While this may be great news to many who hated the pervy naked scanners it is not the end of the story, especially if you travel outside the United States.

Legislation requiring all airport scanners to comply with privacy concerns was passed by the US Congress in January 2013. The TSA through its partnerships with Rapiscan and L3 Communications had till June 1st to make their machines compliant. L3 Communications was the only company able to produce software to satisfy the privacy requirement. As a result the Rapiscan Secure 1000 machines have been removed and the L3 Communications Provision Millimetre wave machines are their replacement.

The first hint of a problem is that the TSA is still adamant that the Rapiscan backscatter scanners are completely safe! The sole reason for withdrawing them they say is because they are not privacy compliant. Some of the reports in the media seem to suggest that if Rapiscan can solve the software issue we could see the return of the backscatter technology. While it is only inferred, it is not hard to see that if you spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on machinery and you can recoup your investment by fixing the software glitch you may favour that option. Hence we may nt be out of the woods yet.

The second cause for concern is that these Rapiscan backscatter machines were fitted in other countries around the world who do not have a robust government to implement the changes like the United States has. Frequent fliers are left to fend for themselves in these cases. They have to deal with the breaches of privacy and the ionising radiation they are subject to. Often times the airport workers are not knowledgeable enough to understand the legitimate concerns of the traveller. In these instances the choices are comply and subject yourself to these violations or remain trapped in the country until you do, which is no choice at all. For this reason the dangers of backscatter technology may still be with us for a while longer yet.


KNOW YOUR AIRPORT SCANNERS
Some reports online confuse the issue of scanners more than it needs to be.
Know your scanners and know which ones to avoid.
All scanners are Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) scanners.
Rapiscan Secure 1000 ( 2 Metal Blue Boxes you stand between) BAD.
L3 Communications Provision Millimetre Wave scanner ( Glass tube you stand in) GOOD.

See this helpful diagram if in doubt.
www.projects.propublica.org/graphics/backscatter

- Christopher Babayode
gplus.to/thejetspert

What Frequent Fliers Must Know About Hydration - Part 2

One of the complaints frequent fliers have about flying is the dehydration the cabin atmosphere creates. Although planes do not carry an infinite amount of drinking water, supplies are rarely exhausted because drinking glass after glass of water just isn't as sexy as a glass of Zinfandel or Pinot Noir. We seem to have a love hate relationship with drinking water even when it would benefit our health on arrival. In this article we are going to look at our relationship with water.

Periodically since 1958, The World Health Organisation (W.H.O) has continually revised the standards by which water purity fit for human consumption is measured. From a lay perspective there is only one measurement that matters; Does the water you consume regularly increase structured water in your body?

I hinted in the previous article that structured water supports organisation which is another word for growth and health in this context. As humans we are made up of complexes of organisation. Structured water slots into place and supports this system by aiding better function at the cellular level. Before we were physical and biochemical beings we were electrical beings, structured water plays an integral part in this function.

There are 2 ways to get structured water into your body, they are through eating and drinking. Fruit and vegetables naturally contain structured water in their juices. Eating and drinking the juices of raw fruit and vegetables is the simplest way to make sure you are getting enough, there is still debate as to whether cooking destabilises structure. If you consider that most of us consume less fresh fruit and vegetables than we once did you begin to see how this nutrient can become deficient.

The amount of water you drink comes under similar scrutiny. Are you drinking enough water and is the quality of the water you consume up to standard? Most drinking water is treated water. Treated water lends itself to being de-structured through the treatment process. If you consume spring water this can be marginally better depending on where and who bottled it. Other factors like inorganic mineral content, water hardness and turbidity also count.

Do you know how many glasses of water you drink a day? The habit of drinking water instead of soft drinks and other beverages is worth cultivating as a means to improve our relationship with water. As simple as it sounds making a ritual out of drinking water is a sure way to increase consumption and if you are a frequent flier it is a necessity.

Another reason to increase your water intake as a flier is because it indirectly serves as a protector against cosmic radiation. A NASA website article demonstrates the use of hydrogen as a shield against cosmic radiation when incorporated into a spacecraft polymer material. Water, H2O which is two part hydrogen and one part oxygen offers this same benefit to hydrogen rich fliers!

In a nutshell you have to eat more and drink more water, the better the quality the greater the benefit. Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables and their juices. Invest in a juicer and find out where the nearest juice bar to your hotel is. If you want a long term solution consider investing in home water system that cleans and restructures water fed in from your mains supply.

References

WHO -  Previous editions of the Guidelines for drinking-water quality WHO http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/guidelines4/en/

NASA - Space Technology Mission Directorate - High Hydrogen Content Nanostructured Polymer Radiation Protection System NASA http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/strg/2012_stro_esi_ignatiev.html