How to Fly Comfortably

Smart steps for the best travel experience.

By Carol Kaufman

• Fly early in the day. At airports scheduled to capacity, any delay in the morning means there will be at least that much of a delay for every flight thereafter.

• Depart a day in advance for crucial trips, such as a business meeting or a wedding.

• Check the delay statistic for your flight -- how often that flight is more than 15 minutes late on a scale of 1 to 9 (the lower the number, the more often it's late) -- before you book your tickets. Airlines are required by law to give you the stat if you ask for it; many post it on their websites. If the number is 5 or below and time is of the essence, consider another flight.

More than 590,000 pilots made more than 61 million takeoffs and landings last year.

SOURCE: FAA

• Sign up for the registered traveler program to take some of the pain out of the preflight experience. Travelers who pass a voluntary background check can use special lanes to whisk through security at nearly 20 U.S. airports, including in Denver, Oakland, Orlando, and San Francisco.

• Make a call. If you get to the gate and the airline says you've lost your seat, contact the Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights at 877-359-3776. Kate Hanni, the group's founder, says stranded passengers have told her that seats were suddenly found for them when they called CAPBOR from the airport and let airline personnel know they'd done so. If your flight is canceled, the group's volunteer staff will help you book hotels, research your flight status, offer alternative routes, help with car rental, and relay weather information.

• Understand your options. When you're stuck on the ground for hours after boarding, there's a reason. "If the airlines lock the doors, they don't have to provide refunds, credits, lodging, and food expenses," says Paul Hudson, executive director of the Aviation Consumer Action Project. You can circulate a petition demanding to be let off the plane and take it to the cockpit. An airline can't hold people against their will unless there's a safety reason, and the captain has the authority to let people off. If the situation worsens, call the police or a local TV or radio station from your cell phone. CAPBOR hotline volunteers can also put you in touch with the media.

• Don't let it drop. If you have a truly terrible experience, write a reasonable letter afterward to the airline CEO, explaining what happened and asking for compensation. Refer to the contract of carriage listed on the airline's website; it explains the compensation policies. It's up to the airline whether to remedy a passenger's bad experience. If you used plastic to buy your ticket, your credit card company can challenge the airline for violating its contract with a customer.

• Join the fight to enact an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights, federal legislation that would mandate, among other things, that passengers be allowed to deplane when they're held on the tarmac for more than three hours as well as require airlines to provide delayed passengers with food, water, sanitary facilities, and medical attention. The major U.S. carriers are dead set against the bill, arguing that cockpit crews should make these calls. Decide who's right after you learn more at flyersrights.com.

Welcome Arrivals

It's inevitable that you'll get stuck in an airport somewhere, sometime, so why not relax while you're waiting?

Get pampered At Detroit Metro Airport, you can get a facial, a massage, and a shower in McNamara terminal.

Listen to Chopin Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has a pianist to serenade irritable would-be passengers.

Tee off At Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport, you can play 36 holes of golf on airport property -- if you've got the time.

Up your culture quotient Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has spent millions on its world-class art collection.

Sample the Chardonnay At Baltimore/Washington International, a wine bar serves flights of wine during delays.

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Six Surprising Consequences of a Restless Night

By: Vicki Santillano (View Profile)

It’s no secret that skipping valuable sleep time can have negative effects on our physical and emotional health. But could a rise in the lack of sleep be an unacknowledged contributor to the steady rise in divorces over the years? A recent Washington Post article says yes, linking a healthy marriage to better sleep quality. If our nights are consistently restless due to stress, what else is at risk (besides our relationship)? I decided to do a little research to learn more about the surprisingly harsh consequences of fitful sleeping.

Weight Gain
People who suffer from nocturnal sleeping-related eating disorders (NS-REDs) will sleepwalk to the kitchen and eat, well, anything. Frozen chicken, mayonnaise—even non-food items like cat litter and cigarettes—all are up for grabs as nighttime grub. According to Julianne Blythe, a physician assistant at the UCSF Sleep Disorders Center, NS-RED affects about 1 percent of the population. Possible factors behind sleep eating include sleep apnea, a condition that obstructs breathing while sleeping, and stress—two issues that also impede restful sleep.

Even if you’re not afflicted by a rare disorder like NS-RED, not getting enough sleep could lead you to eat more during your waking hours. A study conducted at the University of Chicago found that their patients who slept for less than five hours two days in a row experienced an increase in ghrelin, an appetite stimulant hormone, and a decrease in the hormone that triggers satiety. Even worse, those lacking sleep tend to crave the kinds of foods you should limit—the salty, sugary varieties that are sure to pack on the pounds.

Night Terror
One who suffers from sleep terror disorder wakes up repeatedly in a frightened and anxious state, often screaming. There is no memory of the dream that caused the panic in the first place. “[Sleep terror disorder] is a parasomnia,” Julianne explains. “This means that it occurs during the delta, or deep sleep phase.” The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders states that, in order to be diagnosed with sleep terror disorder, one cannot remember the dream or the panicked episode upon waking. “Because it doesn’t occur during REM sleep [the stage that hosts the dreams you actually remember], there are no vivid dreams to recall,” she says. So, people have no idea why they started screaming in the first place. Though this disorder is most common in children, adults can suffer from sleep terrors as well. Fever, sleep deprivation, and stress are potential triggers—they can cause disruptive sleep, which leads to disorders such as this one.

A Dramatic Change in Your Sex Life (Not in a Good Way)
A person who experiences sexsomnia (another parasomnia) engages in any kind of sexual activity (masturbating, intercourse, etc.) while in a deep sleep. It’s considered a variation of sleepwalking. As is the case with most parasomnias, those who have sexsomnia do not remember their nighttime escapades. This disorder occurs by being jostled out of sleep slightly (not enough to bring about full consciousness), which can happen because of issues like sleep apnea, stress, and anxiety. People have even complained about their partners attempting sex while heavily snoring. Sounds like a contender for the worst foreplay move ever.

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Athletes use Viagra for competitive edge

The Associated Press

LONDON -- Athletes looking for a performance boost are increasingly turning to a little blue pill more usually taken for its off-the-field benefits: Viagra.

Some sports authorities say the drug is now finding a following among athletes. It isn't clear how many might be taking it in hopes of improving athletic performance, but stashes of the drug have reportedly been found among some professional athletes.

The World Anti-Doping Agency is currently studying Viagra's effects in athletes, but hasn't yet banned it. Experts are divided over whether it actually offers athletes an edge.

"It's possible,'' said Anthony Butch, director of the Olympic Analytical laboratory at the University of California Los Angeles, a WADA-accredited facility.

Viagra, also known as sildenafil, is manufactured by Pfizer Inc. It was originally developed as a heart drug; its use as a treatment for erectile dysfunction was only accidentally discovered.

The drug works by increasing the effects of nitric oxide, which makes blood vessels expand. That should theoretically allow blood cells to travel to the lungs more efficiently and to also receive more oxygen. It may also improve heart function.

Viagra is also approved to treat pulmonary hypertension, a condition where the lungs' blood vessels tighten. Doctors have used the drug experimentally to treat pregnant women with high blood pressure and to ward off jet lag.

But whether Viagra makes athletes faster, higher or stronger is uncertain.

"Just because you have more nitric oxide doesn't mean that you are going to be a better athlete,'' Butch said. "If you have all the nitric oxide you need, and if you generate more from Viagra, it's not clear what effect that would have.''

Still, some preliminary studies have shown that cyclists taking Viagra improved their performances by up to 40 per cent.

"If you have more oxygen going to your muscles, that's more energy and that makes you a better athlete,'' said Dr. Andrew McCullough, a sexual health expert at New York University School of Medicine. "Even if it only gives you a 10 per cent increase, in peak athletes, that is enough to win,'' he said.

McCullough said Viagra is only likely to help athletes like runners, cyclists or skiers _ sports where endurance and speed are key. Viagra does not work directly on muscles, so will not make athletes physically stronger.

Athletes often mistakenly assume that a drug will work in their bodies the same way it does in sick people.

For instance, in people with lung problems who take Viagra, the drug widens their blood vessels so they can absorb more oxygen.

Athletes taking Viagra might hope that the drug will expand their already normal-sized vessels to give them extra lung capacity. But some experts say that's unlikely.

"Viagra corrects problems in people who are in a challenged or diseased state,'' said Ian McGrath, a professor of physiology at the University of Glasgow. In normal people, the body's own regulating system is not so easily superseded by drugs, and taking Viagra may be useless, McGrath said.

Still, if Viagra does give athletes an unfair advantage, they will be able to take it at the upcoming Beijing Olympics without worry, since it is not on the prohibited list of medicines.

McGrath said taking Viagra could theoretically help people breathe better in heavily polluted cities, like the Chinese capital. "If you have some sort of illness from pollution, then Viagra might help,'' he said.

Many scientists at laboratories that conduct drug testing say they haven't noticed a suspicious spike in samples containing Viagra.

"We see it as much as we see ibuprofen or aspirin or antibiotics that are not prohibited,'' said Christiane Ayotte, director of a WADA-accredited laboratory in Canada. "Athletes may be taking it, but they may be taking it for non-doping purposes,'' she said.

Ayotte thinks it would be unrealistic to ban Viagra. "Are athletes going to have to submit therapeutic-use exemptions for Viagra?'' she asked. "That would be quite humiliating.''

Other doctors hypothesized that Viagra's more well-known effects on men's sex lives might be the ultimate explanation for any enhanced athletic abilities.

"It could be that athletes are taking Viagra and then having vigorous sexual activity,'' said Dr. Gerard Varlotta, director of sports rehabilitation at New York University's Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. Varlotta doubted that Viagra itself could improve an athletes' performance.

"If athletes are euphoric after sex after taking Viagra, they may be euphoric about their athletic endeavours,'' Varlotta said. "That may make them a better athlete.''

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