I have officially made it to Paris! Which means I am 8 hours into my 24 hour travel day – wahoo.

Traveling is hard on the body. Let’s be honest there are very few of us who can jump off a long flight feeling like a million bucks. However, there are a few tricks travelers can do to ease their travel pains. As I am stuck in Paris for another 5 hours I have decided to take advantage of the free wifi and share with you all some of my tips on how to make your flights more enjoyable. Plus, this writing this will also (hopefully) keep me from falling asleep.

1. Bring one of those dorky neck pillows!

I just discovered the actual beauty of these last year when I went to Sweden for the first time. In the past I will admit I had often frowned upon those people who carry them all around the airport thinking to myself just how much of an unneeded hassle it was, but trust me – it is worth it!!!  Not only do they make sleeping attempting to sleep on planes much easier, they also prevent that awkward falling asleep on your neighbor thing that can happen if you are fortunate enough to doze off. I personally have a neck pillow that buttons together at the bottom, so I can just clip it on a strap and I am good to go!

2. Do NOT cave into airport junk food.

Trust me, I know it can be hard passing up all Chinese food, muffins, pizza, candy, and whatever else the airports throw at you. I get it, your tired, you don’t want to be here, and all you want is a bag of m&ms to ease your pains, but trust me eating those sugary foods will only make you feel worse in the long run. On travel days you often get close to no exercise, so just reach for the apple instead, trust me your body will thank you.

3. Take your shoes off. (but please make sure you have socks!)

This one may sound a little gross to some people, but as long as you have socks on and aren’t rubbing your feet in your neighbors face you should be fine. By doing this you are promoting better blood circulation and also hopefully avoiding the painful event of having your feet fall asleep.

4. Drink water!

I feel like this is the cardinal rule of traveling so I am not even going to explain it. Bring a giant water bottle, fill it right up after security and then ration it throughout the trip. Just stay hydrated people, or you will sorely regret it.

5. Headphones over earplugs.

Personally I find that when I wear earplugs for more than 2 hours my ears really start to hurt and I get weird headaches. On planes I much prefer headphones because I find that they not only block out unwanted noise better, but also are more comfortable in the long run.

I hope this helped everyone out a bit. If anyone has any tips of their own feel free to comment below!