Why You Need Water Before A Flight And How To Make Sure You Get It

If you're something of an obsessively-minded traveler, you might have a sort of mental checklist that you run through as you're navigating your way through your local airport. Passport? Check. Boarding passes? Check. Water? Yeah, you probably forgot to consider that before boarding, just like so many voyagers who go unnecessarily dehydrated during their flights. It turns out that, just like when you're earthbound, staying hydrated is super important in the sky. Luckily, however, a certified expert is here to show you how easily that can be done.

Kathleen Benson is a CPT and CSSD (Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics), and a Certified Registered Dietician with VNutrition, so it's safe to say she knows her way around proper hydration. When asked about getting the H2O into you while transiting, she didn't undercut the sheer effect that water can have on your body while dealing with the rigors of air travel. "Airplane cabins are very dry," she says, "so it's easy to become dehydrated. Drinking water before you board helps support digestion, and prevents that drained, low-energy feeling that often comes with travel." You don't want to be dehydrated, especially when confined to that dry airplane cabin –- just another reason why you should avoid airline coffee, by the way. So while it may be easy to forget while you're filtering through gates, corralling children, etc., be sure to take a moment to have a glass of water — it might make the difference between a smooth flight and a laborious trip.

Before you go filling up your largest portable bottle to chug it all before going through security, hear out our expert. You might have the right spirit, but you'll only be setting yourself up for strife, according to Kathleen Benson. "Chugging a ton of water right before you board will just have you running to the bathroom," she states. Instead, she suggests aiming for a more modest but nevertheless beneficial amount. "Aim for about 1-2 cups of water in the hour or two before boarding, then keep sipping regularly during the flight (about 1 cup per hour in the air)," she says. This way, you can better regulate your body and stay properly hydrated throughout your flight. And while you don't need water exclusively to stay hydrated, it's certainly a good place to start, especially since you lose some of your taste while in the air.

Benson briefly touched on it before, but the reason to keep drinking water before/while flying is largely to avoid the worst of those pesky post-flight feelings. According to Benson, "if you don't drink enough water before a flight, you're more likely to feel fatigued, constipated, and sluggish, and dehydration can worsen jet lag and headaches." Flying can leave you feeling dragged out enough as is, especially on longer flights, so keep this tip in mind to help mitigate those effects next time you're set to travel abroad.