Illness - Medications - Sleep -Alcohol & meds - Fatigue - Eating Emotion Everything Else
It's important to take care of the Mind, Body and Spirit each day. Start small, a little goes a long way.
The journey to excellent health = NEWWS:
Nutrition Exercise Water Wellness Sleep
Nutrition (Body)
Eat a healthy balanced diet. For us that means organic food that we have to prepare, not hyper processed fast food. The more color the better the food
"Shop the perimeter" of the grocery store in the meat, fruit, nuts, vegetable, eggs and dairy section. The body burns a few more calories digesting these foods.
Perishable food has the highest nutritional content.
Some supplements are good, especially B12 and D3
Some medicines are essential, check with your Doctor
Look for natural forms of vitamins and minerals, sunlight for D3, eggs for B12...
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."
Hippocrates
It is amazing how far some good food and water go. Many times the feeling of hunger is actually the body needing water.
Exercise (Body)
Be active. Even light activities stimulate the body's natural immune system.
Find light stretching exercises for neck, shoulders and back that can be done sitting in the flight deck seat or office chair.
Double down on exercise and mindfulness by engaging in peaceful exercise.
Water (Body)
Stay hydrated, the cabin air is very dry. We set a timer on our watches as a reminder. Caffeine is a helpful stimulant early in the day, but not a substitute for water. We stop caffeine at least 6 hours prior to the next sleep opportunity.
Avoid sugary drinks, save calories for solid food.
Wellness (Mind and Spirit)
Be kind to yourself.
Be present with family and friends.
Find a fun hobby or learn a new language that engages the brain. One fun thing to do is to explore layover cities, go out and walk/jog a bit and say hello to a few folks.
"Controlled Rest" - NASA studies show that sitting up in a chair with eyes closed and mind relaxed for 7-10 minutes allows the brain to rest. Set a timer once you find the Goldilocks number of minutes to avoid drifting into sleep.
Here's Skipper demonstrating.
Sleep (Mind, Body and Spirit)
Most folks need 8 hours of good sleep each day, YMMV.
Try to stay on the home base sleep cycle as much as possible.
Dark, cool spaces with a little white noise provide the best sleep.
Try a "Caf Nap" - A little caffeine before a 15 minute nap can boost afternoon performance once awake.
See "Controlled Rest" above
Good NEWWS is good for you!
Take care of yourself so you can have peak performance in the demanding environment of aviation.
Fly Smarter,
Kent
POC: "Clark" Kent Lewis Your Virtual Aerospace Safety Officer (850) 449-4841 lewis dot kent at gmail
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