Stuck at the Airport Healthy Ways to DeStress by Rona Cherry l Ways to Deal with Stress l The Stress of Traveling l Relax at the Airport

Take a Walk

One of the simplest ways is by taking a walk; using the walking paths that have been created at an increasing number of airports. The American Heart Association’s “Start!Walking” program has teamed up with several U.S. airports to promote the development and use of walking paths between gates, concourses and terminals. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport has a two-mile walking circuit, for example, while Minneapolis-St. Paul International has a 1.4 mile path.

And as part of Boston Logan Airport’s “Strides for Health” program, passengers can not only go the distance on the walking paths, but can stop at health stations to check their blood pressure, height, weight and body mass index (BMI) as well.

Rock On

Don’t feel like working up a sweat? At Charlotte Douglas International in Charlotte, North Carolina, passengers mellow out in white wooden rocking chairs made from North Carolina oak. The rockers were first introduced in 1997 as part of a photography exhibit that focused on southern front porches. Passengers liked the rockers so much they became a permanent fixture at the airport.

“They provide travelers with a comfortable, relaxing seat to unwind and take in the sights of the terminal before catching their next flight,” said an airport representative. Today there are more than 100 rockers throughout the terminal building and rocking chairs can be found in several of the busiest airports including Cincinnati, San Diego and Seattle.

On-the-Go Massage

If yoga doesn’t interest you, consider a massage. XpresSPA, the largest airport spa provider, and one of its competitors, Be Relax, each offer a 60-minute table massage for $120. If you don’t have an hour (or longer) to spare, most major airports also offer shorter chair massages.

Travelers remain fully clothed and are seated in a special chair that cradles the head while massages are administered by licensed therapists. While waiting at Detroit Metro Airport for a connecting flight to Dallas, Madonna Kilcollum of Canterbury, Connecticut, decided she’d get a 30-minute in-chair massage. “It was fabulous,” she says about her $60 treatment. “The masseuse worked on the huge knot in my neck, plus my shoulders and legs. It was a really nice way to spend some time before my flight and be pampered.”