VIDEO: New confusing plane trend could be bad for you
Warning: This article contains adult language.
There are some online trends that make more sense than others.
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The latest travel trend has people questioning the sanity of those partaking in it.
Passengers on flights have chosen to go the entire journey without entertainment, food, or drink.
They have been documenting this by posting videos on social media where they explain that they will not be eating, reading, watching movies, sleeping or even listening to music.
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All they do is stare at the chair in front of them for the duration of their journey, no matter how long it is.
Here is an example:
@torrenfoot There’s levels to this 🛬🧠
♬ original sound - torrenfoot
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This trend seems ludicrous to some because of the novelty of being on a plane and using that time to watch an inflight movie, judge the airplane food, and maybe take a nap to make longer journeys fly by faster.
These people are doing the travel equivalent of watching paint dry and it seems so boring!
While everyone is more than welcome to do what they want when they travel, health professionals have spoken out against this trend as it can negatively impact your health.
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Nutritionist Toby King told Inspire Ambitions about the serious impact no food and drink can have on a person for this extended period of time.
Because of the low humidity in planes you can dehydrate very easily:
The trend requires you to sit still for hours at a time and not take in any food or liquids. This is a recipe for disaster that could have terrifying consequences. If you aren’t drinking any water when flying you are adding fuel to the fire. Keeping hydrated can help your skin and mucous membrane cells to keep bacteria from entering your body, and makes you more susceptible to infection, especially when you are surrounded by hundreds of others in a confined area.
This isn't even the worst part.
Blood clots can be a serious threat when flying and not taking the necessary steps to try and prevent them can be fatal.
Immobility and dehydration can increase the risk of a blood clot when travelling, two factors that this trend is promoting. If you do get a clot when travelling it can break off and cause a blockage of the arteries in the lung which is very serious and can cause death. This is one of the most dangerous trends I have seen on social media in a while, and while it looks innocent and a bit of fun on the surface, this could have deadly consequences and I would urge people to use sense when travelling.
A few quick tips for long-haul travel is:
- Make sure you move around every hour or for five minutes every two hours.
- Drink one glass of water for every hour you are in the air.
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Main image courtesy of iStock/anyaberkut