5 Healthy Ways To Spend Time At The Airport
Airport downtime is inevitable for any traveler. For business travelers it can easily become a chore as you find yourself spending hours and hours at the airport. Don’t waste your travel downtime by sitting around and waiting at the gate. Here are 5 healthy ways to spend time at the airport, so that you can make that time work for you.
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.
8 Essential Items to Pack for a Long Layover
Are you facing a long layover on your next trip? Layovers are an inevitable part of frequent travel especially for business travelers. We’ve put together the 8 essential items you need to pack to make your next layover enjoyable.
Want to know how to survive a long layover? Here is what you need to pack.
Quick Summary: The 8 essential things you need to pack to help survive a long layover
Portable charger
A new book or movie
Comfortable clothes
Earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones
A large scarf
Reusable water bottle
Snacks
Sanctifly
We’ve all been there. Another business trip and another long layover. Nobody enjoys the prospect of being stuck at the airport. Even now, with some airports truly bringing their A-game when it comes to amenities, viewing art installations and sitting in massage chairs can only keep you occupied for so long. The fact is airports get boring and long layovers are something business travelers must endure. But with a little pre planning you can avoid the boredom and turn your layover into something to look forward to. It’s all about changing our mindsets and the way we few airport downtime. By removing the negative connotations and taking the time to plan ahead, we can turn airport layovers into less of a chore and more of a benefit. Because when’s the last time you got 4 hours to yourself to read and relax? That’s exactly what a layover can be and if you keep these 8 items in you carry on you will easily survive your next layover.
8 things you should always pack for a long layover
Portable charger
For business travelers especially, keeping devices charged so that you are contactable is so important. Just because you are stuck at the airport doesn’t mean that email doesn’t need to be sent or that client can wait for an answer. We still need to be productive with our time and making the most of that airport downtime to catch up on work can be a great way to reduce stress. Who wants to face a full inbox when they arrive home after a long business trip? That seat near an outlet is often prime real estate, especially in airports with frequent layovers, and not always easy to get. We always pack a portable charger in our carry on to avoid the outlet search and ensure our devices always have charge.
A new book or movie
Your layover doesn’t have to be all about work, and for those of us staring down a long layover it’s not feasible or healthy to work through it. And let’s face it, you are going to get bored. Entertainment is incredibly important to stave off that inevitable boredom and avoid filling your time with unhealthy activities such as drinking alcohol and eating bad food. We always save a new book or movie we’ve been dying to see for long layovers. Looking forward to something like a good movie always helps us to survive a long layover.
Comfortable clothes
Layovers are going to be uncomfortable, that’s a given. The chairs are hard, the place is noisy and you are probably tired and a little irritable. So why not take control of your comfort wherever you can? Who wants to spend twelve hours sitting around in a suit? Packing comfortable clothes and shoes to fly in or at least to change into during a layover can have a huge impact. If you have to go straight to a meeting after your flight take 5 extra minutes either just before you board or after you land to change. 5 minutes is worth it to be comfortable during a long layover.
Ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones– drown out the noise of the airports
Airports are noisy, chaotic places. There is no escaping the noise of a busy terminal (unless you decide to go to a lounge, but even those can be full and noisy sometimes) and long layovers can be torture if there is no chance to get a little peace and quiet. We always pack ear plugs, or even better, noise cancelling headphones because they have two uses, to help drown out the din of the airport and watch that movie we were saving. Take some time to pop in your ear plugs, close your eyes and do some breathing exercises on your next layover, it’s a go to stress relieving activities on all our business trips.
A large scarf – to use as a pillow or a blanket
An easy addition to your packing list (you don’t even have to pack it! Just throw it around your neck as you are heading out of the door), a large scarf is essential for surviving a long layover. Travel pillow are ok, but not great especially if you are facing down a long layover. They are bulky and hard to pack, harder to clean and we’ve lost more than we can count at airports because we simply forget to pick them up when rushing to the gate. A large scarf can double as a pillow for taking a nap either during your layover or on the plane and as a blanket for when it gets cold. Packing light is a necessity for frequent travel and so anything that can have a double use is a win.
Reusable water bottle
Staying hydrated is so important while traveling and as more and more airports make moves towards sustainability single use plastic water bottles will become harder and harder to find. Plus, who wants to waste money buying countless water bottles when there is a refillable water station available to use for free? Pack a reusable water bottle next time you travel to not only save money and the planet but also encourage yourself to hydrate throughout your trip.
Snacks
We are huge advocates for packing your own snacks before heading to the airport. Being in control of your diet is a great way to maintain a healthy routine even when on the road. Check out this blog post on the top hydrating and filling snacks that are perfect for traveling.
Sanctifly
Ok so we may be a little bit biased here but our number 1 survival tool for any long layover is always Sanctifly. Sanctifly provides you with healthy options in and around airports and as a member, you can access Sanctifly’s exclusive list of partner hotels and lounges. That means you can go for a swim or a workout during your layover without having to book a room! Sitting around waiting for the time to pass until your flight is not a valuable way to spend your time. Rethink the way you view your airport downtime. You can find out more about Sanctifly here.
Add these 8 items to your packing list next time you are facing down a long layover. Frequent travel doesn’t have to be a chore if we take the time and put in the effort to take care of our physical and mental health. As more and more airports and airlines recognize that wellness is important for their customers let’s not forget that we can take personal steps towards healthier travel too.
What to do on your MEX Layover
We have gathered all the best things for you to do at Mexico city Airport so you can take advantage of your layover with Sanctifly. No matter how much time you’ve got, we have an option for you.
Mexico City Airport.
SMART CHOICES FOR THE HEALTHY TRAVELER
SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR MEX LAYOVER
We are creating a series of “things to do” at each airport. This is to help you use your layover as wisely as possible. We can’t always help that we are held up at the airport. We want to help you take advantage of your downtime and use it to help you maintain your healthy routine while traveling. We have put together some suggestions for your MEX layover.
1 hour
Why not do some yoga?
Travelers can take advantage of the airports Wi-Fi. Go to the sanctifly app and do some yoga stretches with our fitness coach, Sara. Find a quiet spot near your gate and plug in your headset. All you have to do is search for “SSID MEX free Wi-Fi” in your Wi-Fi settings, register and connect.
Why we like it
The WiFi is free for the first 50 minutes.
For more information
https://yourhelloworld.com/wifi-details-for-benito-jurez-international-airport-mex/
Or grab a healthy bite!
Casa Avila is Mexico City airport’s most highly rated restaurant, providing travelers with fresh ingredients that is prepared daily. Located in terminal 2, gate 19.
Why we like it
Casa Avila provides lots of healthy options along with vegetarian and vegan options.
For more information
TOP TIP
Leave your luggage at the airport. Storage options available in both terminals. Click here for a map to the facilities
2-3 hours
Take a hike!
Feel like a run around Mexico City? Visit Bosque De Aragon Park! Located a short 5.6km (10 minute) taxi journey from the airport. The Park is fitted with its own running track. Pick the short route, 2.5km or the long route, 5km.
Why we like it
The park is surrounded by a national forest.
For more information
Discover the culture.
If you enjoy art and culture, you will love Polyforum Siqueiros. Visiting the different paintings, sculptures and architect is a great opportunity to stretch your legs before a flight. The museum is a 13.9km (37 Minute) car journey from the airport.
Why we like it
Polyforum hosts the largest outdoor mural work in the world.
For more information
3-6 hours
Segway your way around Mexico City.
Take a 16.8km (52 minute) taxi journey into Mexico City and rent a Segway for up to 90 minutes to explore the city. The Segway experience gives you the option to follow a professional tour guide who provides live commentary or you can travel your own route.
Why we like it
Offers personalized tailored tours.
For more information
Seven Buddhas Bar
This cafe provides both healthy and delicious food. Conveniently located next to a yoga studio, giving you the perfect opportunity to work out and get in your post workout meal. The restaurant is 48 minutes (13.7 km) drive away from the airport.
Why we like it
Menu options include waffle falafel, homemade lemonade, smoothie mix and a buddha bowl.
For more information
https://www.facebook.com/pg/sevenbuddhasmx/posts/?ref=page_internal
TOP TIP
Mexico City traffic can become extremely congested. Travellers need to take this into consideration when leaving the airport as delays may arise.
6+ hours
Private tour to Teotihuacan
Are you interested in seeing Mexico City’s historic sights? Teotihuacan contains towering pyramids and stone temples. View the pyramids from above on a hot-air balloon before touring the ruins on the ground or opt for an early-morning tour with an archaeologist to understand the site's history. The tour can take 6 to 11 hours in duration depending on what package you choose from.
How to get there? From the airport request a private pick up service direct with “Teotihuacan Pyramids Tours” by calling the number provided. Otherwise, call a taxi service. The pyramids are a 1-hour (50.6 km) car journey from the airport.
Why we like it
Hiking pyramids experience and a chance to take stunning pictures.
For more information
https://www.viator.com/Mexico-City-attractions/Teotihuacan-Pyramids/d628-a1760
Mexico City Bike Tour
The best way to soak up the local ambiance is on a bicycle. Discover Mexico City squares and skip the long queue for museums. The guided tour has a duration of 4 hours. The bike tour meeting spot is a 17 km (23 minutes) drive from the airport. Book the tour by clicking on the link below.
Why we like it
Fruit snacks and water are included.
For more information
Don’t forget how flexible your Sanctifly membership is. You can use it for an hour or more to suit the time you have available. Get a single use membership or come on board for full corporate membership for your team. Don’t compromise on your health while traveling. Click here for more information on the different Sanctifly memberships.
From everyone at Sanctifly,
Travel well.
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