Lately, it seems everyone has a living dog in this in-flight fight.
Air travel optimizers have sworn by the latest wacky trend to infiltrate airplane culture — jet lag — in which passengers endure a long flight with nothing but their thoughts to keep them occupied. The benefits of forced boredom, however, are still up for debate.
The provocative term has been flying off the social media charts this summer, as travelers following the influence — mostly men — claim to have spent half a dozen hours or more in silence on a plane in a display of physical discipline and mental toughness.
“Just had a 7-hour flight (new personal best),” Wudini, a UK DJ boasted to his audience in a TikTok post with over 13.2 million views. “No headphones, no film, no water, nothing.”
“Unbelievable,” he added. “The power of my mind knows no bounds.”
Seven hours is child’s play for Instagram user Damon Bailey, who shared his personal best of 13 1/2 hours between Shanghai and Dallas without any form of entertainment.
“It’s quite difficult, to be honest,” the 34-year-old from Miami, Florida told BBC News – although he has no plans to stop, he added. “I like the challenge, for sure.”
Even bona fide athletes are doing it, including Manchester City soccer star Erling Haaland, who boasted of his “easy” seven-hour streak of “no phone, no sleep, no water, no food.”
Proponents of the raw shot have suggested the phenomenon was inspired by Idris Elba’s character Sam Nelson — who endures a nearly eight-hour flight from Dubai to London with no gear after hijackers commandeer his plane — in the Apple TV+ series Hijacked .
Despite Elba’s enviable status as an on-screen hero, critics of the IRL have slammed the practice as “psychopathic”, with some experts warning against the dangers of being deprived of sleep, food and water on planes. The dry in-flight environment causes dehydration inside and out, which is why it’s so important to stay hydrated between air trips, according to travel experts who recently spoke to the Daily Mail, adding that it also doesn’t make sense to refrain from snacking or sleeping if your body is telling you it needs those essentials.
However, this ascetic trend of air travel has an advantage – through the lens of attention. Business psychologist Danielle Haig claimed it can provide “an opportunity to recharge mentally, to gain new perspectives”, she told the BBC.
Haig believes the interest in raw research suggests “a collective desire for balance as people seek to reclaim their mental space and foster a deeper connection with their inner selves.”
In this regard, psychology researcher Sandi Mann, author of The Science of Boredom, argues that long periods of silence can be a good thing for those of us who spend our days staring at screens.
“We need to reduce our need for novelty and stimulation and the dopamine rush, and just take time to breathe and look at the clouds – literally, if you’re on a flight,” Mann told the BBC.
She acknowledged, however, that diligent raw dogs can experience diminishing returns: “That’s not ideal for a second-hour flight.”
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Image Source : nypost.com