<p>When I started flight training, I was 18 years old. Everything was new: I had recently finished high school in Amsterdam, where I lived with my parents and sister. But now I moved to Madrid, started living on my own, in a new country where I didn’t know many people. Gladly, I moved into a house with 3 classmates who were all from The Netherlands and we were in this adventure together! </p>
<p>The course started with theory lessons, we learned all about Principles of flight, Mass & Balance, Performance, Meteorology, Power plant, systems and much more. The theory classes were from 16:00 until 20:00. This meant that until we would start flying, we had a lot of free time. We would invite our classmates to come over for dinner and had a lot of fun. Most nights we would go out for a drink or watch movies until late at night after which the next day we would have to fight about who would shower first, because we woke up very late and didn’t want to be late for class… at 4PM! </p>
<p><img alt="Pilot Lindy 2" src="/getasset/98da3efd-ad9e-44ad-98a1-40856b48e8c6/" /></p>
<p>One of the subjects I liked a lot was Human performance and limitations. A very different subject, this wasn’t so technical and had much more to do with biology, a subject I had always loved in high school. The teacher was a doctor and very knowledgeable. We learned all about the effects of flying to the human body, for example about visual illusions when flying in the night or inside the clouds and how the cabin altitude affects our body. We learned that a rapid decompression of the plane causes hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) to the human body and that smoking, stress and bad health decrease the time of useful consciousness significantly. </p>
<p>We also learned that the effects of sleep deprivation are similar to being under influence of alcohol. Our performance, awareness and focus can be adversely affected by fatigue. Fatigue is something that we sometimes fail to recognise. Making long shifts at irregular times, doing night flights and being often in different time zones can cause fatigue. A cup of coffee can momentarily make us feel more awake, but it’s only hiding the fatigue for a moment. </p>
<p>It’s interesting that we usually start to feel tired when doing a monotonous task. For example, if we are in cruise phase of the flight, monitoring our instruments and parameters. When something irregular occurs, we start to feel more awake. That’s because our body reacts to the irregularity. It recognises that something is odd and is perceived as a stressor, as a potential risk. The body starts preparing to fight or flight, adrenaline is released into the bloodstream, which causes an increase in heart rate, muscle strength and blood pressure. At that moment, no matter how tired we are, we are ready to fight. The human body is amazing, but we must take good care of it. </p>
<p>It was very interesting to learn about these topics, but it wasn’t until I started flying for an airline that I actually started paying attention to my diet and sleep habits. In flight school we were young, we were students, we had a lot of fun and didn’t care so much about getting enough sleep or eating healthy. Nowadays, I know that what I eat has a direct effect on how I feel. If I wake up feeling tired after a long night sleep, it’s usually because my body hasn’t gotten the right nutrition. If I go to bed late and wake up for an early morning flight, I know that my performance and focus will not be the best that day. If I am stressed, I know that even if I sleep long enough, I may not get the rest that I need. </p>
<p>Another thing I’m realising more and more, is the need of working out. Not just for looking fit, to lose weight or to gain muscles. Being physically active makes for better quality sleep, feeling less tired and give a better posture, which is really important in a job where you sit almost all the time. Physical exercise releases endorphin to your body which reduces the perception of pain and trigger a positive feeling in the body. It’s also very good for your skin, as sweating helps you drain all toxics from your body. </p>
<p>So what do I do to keep a healthy lifestyle? Honestly speaking: Not much. I believe that it’s important as a pilot to keep a good balance between nutrition and exercise to cope well with the jet lags, the night flights and the climate differences. It is not that I’m living an extremely healthy lifestyle and I never say ‘no’ to a nice plate of pasta or a pizza. I live in Italy, it’s REALLY impossible here to refuse food. The great thing is that food in Italy is not just delicious, but also very organic. Getting your vegetables from your own (or your neighbour’s) garden, using olive oil that’s locally produced, eating meat and eggs from animals that have had a good life, without any chemical products or being genetically modified. That’s for me what eating healthy is all about. And with regards to working out? I like to ride my bike to the nearest town, if possible I walk instead of taking the shuttle to the airport parking and take the stairs instead of the escalator. Besides that, in my free time I love to swim in the sea and hike in nature reserves. Working out doesn’t have to be something dreadful, it doesn’t have to be something you don’t feel like doing. There is so many things we must do in our lives, I rather don’t get stressed about it! </p>
<p>The course started with theory lessons, we learned all about Principles of flight, Mass & Balance, Performance, Meteorology, Power plant, systems and much more. The theory classes were from 16:00 until 20:00. This meant that until we would start flying, we had a lot of free time. We would invite our classmates to come over for dinner and had a lot of fun. Most nights we would go out for a drink or watch movies until late at night after which the next day we would have to fight about who would shower first, because we woke up very late and didn’t want to be late for class… at 4PM! </p>
<p><img alt="Pilot Lindy 2" src="/getasset/98da3efd-ad9e-44ad-98a1-40856b48e8c6/" /></p>
<p>One of the subjects I liked a lot was Human performance and limitations. A very different subject, this wasn’t so technical and had much more to do with biology, a subject I had always loved in high school. The teacher was a doctor and very knowledgeable. We learned all about the effects of flying to the human body, for example about visual illusions when flying in the night or inside the clouds and how the cabin altitude affects our body. We learned that a rapid decompression of the plane causes hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) to the human body and that smoking, stress and bad health decrease the time of useful consciousness significantly. </p>
<p>We also learned that the effects of sleep deprivation are similar to being under influence of alcohol. Our performance, awareness and focus can be adversely affected by fatigue. Fatigue is something that we sometimes fail to recognise. Making long shifts at irregular times, doing night flights and being often in different time zones can cause fatigue. A cup of coffee can momentarily make us feel more awake, but it’s only hiding the fatigue for a moment. </p>
<p>It’s interesting that we usually start to feel tired when doing a monotonous task. For example, if we are in cruise phase of the flight, monitoring our instruments and parameters. When something irregular occurs, we start to feel more awake. That’s because our body reacts to the irregularity. It recognises that something is odd and is perceived as a stressor, as a potential risk. The body starts preparing to fight or flight, adrenaline is released into the bloodstream, which causes an increase in heart rate, muscle strength and blood pressure. At that moment, no matter how tired we are, we are ready to fight. The human body is amazing, but we must take good care of it. </p>
<p>It was very interesting to learn about these topics, but it wasn’t until I started flying for an airline that I actually started paying attention to my diet and sleep habits. In flight school we were young, we were students, we had a lot of fun and didn’t care so much about getting enough sleep or eating healthy. Nowadays, I know that what I eat has a direct effect on how I feel. If I wake up feeling tired after a long night sleep, it’s usually because my body hasn’t gotten the right nutrition. If I go to bed late and wake up for an early morning flight, I know that my performance and focus will not be the best that day. If I am stressed, I know that even if I sleep long enough, I may not get the rest that I need. </p>
<p>Another thing I’m realising more and more, is the need of working out. Not just for looking fit, to lose weight or to gain muscles. Being physically active makes for better quality sleep, feeling less tired and give a better posture, which is really important in a job where you sit almost all the time. Physical exercise releases endorphin to your body which reduces the perception of pain and trigger a positive feeling in the body. It’s also very good for your skin, as sweating helps you drain all toxics from your body. </p>
<p>So what do I do to keep a healthy lifestyle? Honestly speaking: Not much. I believe that it’s important as a pilot to keep a good balance between nutrition and exercise to cope well with the jet lags, the night flights and the climate differences. It is not that I’m living an extremely healthy lifestyle and I never say ‘no’ to a nice plate of pasta or a pizza. I live in Italy, it’s REALLY impossible here to refuse food. The great thing is that food in Italy is not just delicious, but also very organic. Getting your vegetables from your own (or your neighbour’s) garden, using olive oil that’s locally produced, eating meat and eggs from animals that have had a good life, without any chemical products or being genetically modified. That’s for me what eating healthy is all about. And with regards to working out? I like to ride my bike to the nearest town, if possible I walk instead of taking the shuttle to the airport parking and take the stairs instead of the escalator. Besides that, in my free time I love to swim in the sea and hike in nature reserves. Working out doesn’t have to be something dreadful, it doesn’t have to be something you don’t feel like doing. There is so many things we must do in our lives, I rather don’t get stressed about it! </p>