Do you enjoy traveling but not the traveling? You know what I mean. It’s great to vacation and visit other places but a pain getting there. If you are like me the discomforts associated with traveling often change a short flight to hours of agony.

With the size of economy seating getting smaller and travel amenities disappearing, it’s not only expensive to fly but uncomfortable. Remember the days when you could recline your seats back further than an inch, when pillows and blankets were available to every passenger and nuts were always served. Those were the days. Now I travel for business several times a month squished in a seat big enough for a toddler with no pillow and no peanuts plus I have to pay for my baggage. What has the world come to? I can’t do much about the seats, peanuts or baggage but I can offer some advice about the pillow. In fact, I say they keep their pillows. They were crappy anyway. There is now a huge variety of travel and neck pillows that offer comfort and support while you travel.

If you are like me and need extra support for your head and neck the best kind of travel pillow is shaped like a “C” and made from memory foam. The shape contours about your neck and allows you head to rest gently to the side. The memory foam has the ability to respond to temperature and mold to your neck reducing pressure points. Anymore I get on a plane and go straight to sleep. If your discomfort when traveling stems from your back there are support pillows that are designed as a backrest to reduce the stress on your spine. Most backrest pillows are inflatable, rectangular shaped cushions that can easily slip behind your back while you travel. Many also use a lumbar type pillow shaped like a roll or rectangle to provide extra support for the lower back. I have actually seen a person pull out an inflatable pillow that supported their entire back and provided a head rest. So if you are uncomfortable because of back pain there is a solution. If you are like my mother her butt gets sore. She always brings a small cushion filled with goose down when she fly’s to sit on. It may sound weird but she swears by it. She claims that it cushions her buttocks and improves her posture which supports her back. You might want to try it.

Whatever you decide there is no need to feel the discomfort while traveling. Enjoy your flight. The seats may be squishy and the peanuts gone but by golly we can bring our own pillow and get comfortable.