5 Healthy Ways To Spend Your Airport Downtime
Learn a new skill
Read
Get a massage
Walk the terminals
Stretch or Yoga
Airport downtime is inevitable for any traveler. For a leisure traveler that only fly once a year the airport may be a novelty. You start the holiday early and treat yourself to a drink or happily spend an hour or two browsing the duty free and testing cologne or trying out make up samples. For holidaymakers the airport experience is just another part of your holiday experience and while it’s not the most exciting part, provided you don’t experience any significant delays or other disruptions it can be enjoyable.
For frequent business travelers airport downtime has different connotations. It’s not a once or twice a year event that signifies the beginning of a holiday, it is a consistent part of their work life. The TSA recommends arriving at the airport 2 hours before domestic flights and 3 hours before international flights. When you take away average times for getting through security and boarding the plane that leaves about 1-2 hours of airport downtime for passengers and that is not factoring in possible delays. If you are a frequent business traveler that travelers 3-4 times a month for work, you could potentially be spending 16 hours a month hanging around the airport. That’s over 800 hours a year!
We were curious about this downtime and how people spend it here at Sanctifly, so we asked a number of our frequent business traveler members how they spend their extra time at the airport. The overwhelming majority said, ‘I use the time to catch up on emails and get some work done’. Now, while their employers are probably delighted with this answer, we were wondering if that is really the best use of their time? When you go on a business trip it can be hard to switch off and tie away from work is vital for productivity, employee well-being and to avoid employee burnout. It is beneficial for the employer and the traveling employee to take time off whenever it is available, and I believe taking advantage of airport downtime for wellness and self-care is a great opportunity!
Here are 5 healthy ways you can kill time at the airport, without working or catching up on emails and without mindlessly scrolling through social media for hours.
1. Learn a language or learn another new skill
Airport downtime is a great opportunity to take some time to learn something new. Learning a new skill will help keep your brain sharp and focused and some studies have even showed benefits for memory loss. If you are heading to a different country where they speak a different language learning some basic greetings and other phrases can be very beneficial, not only for your brain but it will help you make a great impression in your business meeting. Being able to say ‘Hello, how are you? It’s nice to meet you’ in the language of the land will show you put a real effort into preparing for this meeting. So, the next time you are heading on a business trip pick up a phrase book and start learning! Or choose another skill to master, maybe you always wanted to learn how to draw, or journal or take and edit photos. The downtime you have at the airport is the perfect chance to learn something new.
2. Use the time to read
I absolutely adore reading, but as a busy professional with as many obligations outside of work as in, reading often gets pushed down the priority list. While sitting down with a cup of tea and a good book is a pretty standard part of my Sunday routine, during all other parts of the week I find it very hard to find the time. Airport downtime (and business trip downtime, if you find yourself with any) can be a time to catch up on reading. If you dedicate yourself to avoiding work during your airport downtime, there is literally nothing else to distract you while you are waiting for your flight. Except of course the hustle and bustle of the airport, but a good pair of noise cancelling headphones will solve that. Make sure you have a book that you are excited to read in your bag and dedicate your airport downtime to reading.
3. Get a massage
What better way to relieve the stress of traveling and continue on your journey feeling relaxed and energized than by treating yourself to a massage. Many larger airports have airport spas in the terminal, Be Relax and XpresSpa are two of the larger chains that offer airport spa services all over the world. Often, airport spas will cater their offering to your needs so even if you only have 15 minutes to spare you can still get a massage. Make your airport downtime an enjoyable experience by heading to the spa and integrating some self-care into your travel routine.
4. Walk the terminals
Staying sedentary, meaning that you are taking part in activities that require very low energy expenditure, i.e. sitting, can have some real negative effects on your health. Of course, if you live a sedentary lifestyle, meaning even outside your travel days you do not do much physical activity, it can affect your obesity levels and lead to a number of chronic health effects. But did you know that extended periods of inactivity and sedentary behaviour can reduce metabolism and impair the body's ability to control blood sugar levels and regulate blood pressure? Being at the airport is synonymous with sitting and waiting and not moving very much at all. If you travel frequently you need to be aware of the health risks that you are imposing on your body by sitting around the airport. And the solution is so simple! Walk the terminals. Airports are often vast and almost empty spaces. While they may seem busy and chaotic around the food court and the duty free, in larger airport there are often lots of distant and empty gates that you can walk to. Airports often have really amazing art installations dotted throughout them so why not make it a point on your next trip to take a walk and look at the art?
5. Stretch & yoga
As mentioned above moving your body and doing some sort of physical activity is really important. If you don’t want to aimlessly walk the terminals another option could be to find a quiet space, perhaps one of those empty gates or check and see if the airport you are in has a dedicated yoga room and do some stretching or yoga. Sanctifly members get access to a series of travel wellness videos including airport friendly workout routines, yoga routines to help energize you or to help you relax your body so that you can sleep on the plane. Your airport downtime is a great opportunity to take care of your body and improve your health through some gentle exercise. For more information on the benefits of becoming a Sanctifly member click here.
When you change the way you view your airport downtime and take the time to do something good for you it will have lasting benefits on your health, your productivity and your mental well-being. Next time you have a business trip treat that time at the airport as personal time and use it to your benefit.
Interested in becoming a Sanctifly member? Join today and get access to 2500+ wellness locations at over 130 international airports including access to airport executive lounges, airport gyms, pools and spas. Make the most of your airport downtime and make healthy choices on your next trip. View our different membership types.
