Easing travel-related stress.
Hand out these tips to your road warriors (and tuck them in your carry-on too!)

By Anicka Quin

Get to know your apps. SeatGuru is an industry-adored app for choosing the right seat, and stress expert Dr. Kathleen Hall recommends finding apps with sounds you find soothing (nature sounds, music) for when stress starts to spike.

Hydrate. Drink plenty of water when flying, which has a side benefit: you’ll get up to use the lavatory, and stretch your legs.

Pack a snack. “I always travel with some type of snack,” says Wartgow, “just in case there’s an unanticipated delay, or rough air and the meal service cart can’t come down the aisle.”

Eat omega-3s. Having fish the night before or the morning of a trip, says Dr. Hall, coats your brain’s neurons in healthy fatty acids, reducing your overall stress.

Bring a banana. Vitamin B6 is a great producer of serotonin— the anti-stress hormone—and just one banana has as much as 40 percent of your recommended daily intake.

Figure out your WiFi access. Lack of connectivity is one of the top travel stressors; if necessary, purchase a travel package from your cell phone provider ahead of time.

Pack a change of clothes in your carry-on. “If you find yourself stranded at a connecting airport,” says Dennis Swane of Ericsson, “you’ll have enough to get you through a night at a hotel.”

Get noise-cancelling headsets. Bose’s QuietComfort headsets are the gold standard.

Use hand sanitizer. The more modes of transit you use (taxi, plane, taxi again), the more you’re vulnerable to viruses on surfaces.

Read. Reading something you enjoy exercises your brain, says Dr. Hall, and can actually reduce stress hormones like cortisol or adrenaline.