Travel stress is on the rise: are mindfulness gadgets the answer?

As people return to travel en masse, airports are just as busy as before the pandemic. Unfortunately, the airlines have not been able to cope with the re-progress until their employees, which reports that the process is slower and more complicated than expected. In fact, several times this year, including as early as July, the Transportation Security Administration has reported more people going through security checkpoints than they did on the same day in 2019. After landing. According to a recent report by the US Department of Transportation, airlines lost nearly 220,000 bags during domestic flights in April, more than double what they lost last April.

I experienced this hell a week before my Caribbean trip. In Spokane, Wash., trying to get home to Huntsville, Ala., my flight was canceled more than an hour before it was scheduled to take place. After waiting in an endless line for a customer service representative, I rebooked on a three-legged red eye through Salt Lake City, Utah, and Atlanta — my only option if I wanted to return in the next two days. On the second flight, I had a four-hour argument with a man who opened his mouth. I got home around 11:00, just in time to catch up on an important meeting.

Of course it could be worse. Denver-based publicist Sammy Mason, 26, for example, waited three hours at the Oranjestad, Aruba airport to catch a flight to Charlotte following a friend’s wedding in June. In bad weather, she stopped in Charleston, SC to refuel her flight. They kept her surrounded for an hour before landing. They sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes when all the doors landed, realizing that the pilots had reached their 9 hour shift limit and could not go to Charlotte. “At this point the plane was swinging, what were they doing, and the guy next to me almost tackled the pilot,” Ms Mason said. It was after midnight that she waited in line for another two hours to rebook on another flight the next day.

“I had to tell my work that I was going to be absent the other day [of work]It gave me a lot of anxiety and not knowing when and how I was going to get home for 4-5 hours was terrifying,” Ms Mason said. “This whole thing made me not want to travel again for 6 months.”

No wonder a deep sense of dread set in when I returned to the airport to fly to the Caribbean. My last experience paralyzed me with fear of a repeat. I ended up driving home.

Alyssa Meiranz, a New York City-based psychotherapist, says many of her patients have experienced increased travel anxiety over the past few months, due to the current complex flight logistics and fear of being stuck in crowded places. And some travel experts say they don’t expect things to improve anytime soon. Toronto-based Gavin Miller, executive vice president of travel agency TravelEdge, predicts cases will continue through the fall and holiday season and possibly into 2023.

I was determined not to miss out on a vacation in Sweden scheduled to meet my baby niece at the end of June, so I started looking for a solution. There’s no magic bullet that makes flights go on time (yet!), but maybe something can calm me down when I’m dealing with delays. I discovered a wearable device called Cove that claims to help you manage stress and sleep better by shaking your head. Skeptical, but desperate, I gave it a try.

The Cove is one of the newer devices that uses a technique called mechanical affective touch therapy (MATT), which two recent peer-reviewed studies by researchers at Brown University have shown to reduce anxiety. Omar Ahmed, a neuroscientist at the University of Michigan, pointed out that both studies were supported by Apollo, the company that developed the technique. The findings show MATT has “potential” but cautions that more research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of the tools they use. “Neither study was a controlled case and both are very preliminary,” he said.

For its part, Cove has made the technique easy (if expensive) to try. After slipping the Cove behind your head and attaching it to your ear, you can press the headphone button or use a smartphone app to activate a vibration “session” at an adjustable intensity level. After 20 minutes, the device will turn itself off. To reap its full benefits as a sleep aid and stress reliever, Cove says you should do one of these sessions twice a day for 30 days, starting at the lowest vibrational level you feel. My international flight was a few days away – I didn’t have time to soak up the highs before boarding – but I immediately got back to work. The first few times I tried it, I couldn’t feel it even on the strongest setting.

I brought it anyway. The first leg of my trip, an early flight to Chicago O’Hare International Airport, began smoothly. I thought I’d spend my eight-hour layover in the Scandinavian Airlines lounge. But as soon as I arrived, I learned that the lounge’s check-in desk wouldn’t open for another four hours. I was stuck in the crowded international departures lobby lugging my unchecked bag. Here comes the headache.

Somehow I managed to get an empty table in a cafe. I slipped out of my sweaty jacket and pulled out my cov. At this point, I noticed the vibe, but soon, with the help of iced coffee and oatmeal, they became a common story. Twenty minutes later, they answered several emails, and I felt calm, if a little nervous. (Thanks, coffee.) When I finally got on my flight, I was relaxed and happy.

While I was on vacation, I continued to use Cove between baby Nora. But when it was time to go home, the anxiety started to creep back in. When we got up I suddenly felt nauseous. Instead of obeying my first instinct (reaching for an air-sickness bag and relieving myself), I popped onto my cove. After an hour I was drinking completely clean water.

Whether the Cove’s vibrations distracted my mind from negative thoughts, or the device had a placebo effect added at my will to overcome the travel anxiety that plagued me this summer, I can’t tell. For now, I’ll keep it stored in my closet. just in case.

Meditative mediators / Three high-tech ways to cool down

Brain Teaser

Cove promises to boost your mental recovery with this headphone-like device released in January 2021. Its vibrations would theoretically trigger receptors on your skin to trigger your body’s emotional touch response – the equivalent of a digital hug. The biometric data the app collects is neat (the Cove Relaxation Index tracks your chill state each session on a scale of 0 to 100), but an ongoing subscription is required for the device to work. $199 including a 6-month subscription to FeelCove.com

Arm candy

Designed by psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Dave Rabin, wear the Apollo Neuro around the wrist or ankle to actively strengthen your autonomic nervous system and improve heart rate variability, which the company claims. Like Cove, Apollo says the longer and more consistently you use the bracelet, the better the results. While it’s not the prettiest wearable, it does come in six colors with alternating bands. $349, ApolloNeuro.com

Biohacking necklace

A high-tech wearable or the latest outrageous fashion accessory? Hapbin sling,

It debuted the latest version at CES in January, around your neck and you might get some funny looks. But the manufacturer claims it can improve your sleep, performance and mood by sending tiny electromagnetic waves to your brain. These mimic the effects of caffeine and melatonin without the side effects of cold brew or sleeping pills. The band runs up to 18 hours between charges. $299, Hapbee.com

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