Flyers who don't eat or drink on plane warned they could face 'terrifying consequences'

A bizarre new trend, known as "raw dogging", has emerged among long-haul flight passengers, often young men, who choose to sit in silence without any digital distractions, food or drink.

This peculiar practice has been making waves on social media. Neuroscientist Mark Williams has weighed in on the trend, stating that while prolonged engagement with digital entertainment can lead to mental fatigue, raw dogging flights is not a solution.

He said: "You're not really unstimulated when you're on a plane. You're still going to have babies crying, the noise of the plane engine and all those sorts of things."

Williams suggested engaging in activities like colouring in, which could potentially release serotonin due to its meaningful nature. He further explained: "Your attention is constantly being grabbed by that other information and being shoved into your working memory, so it's very stressful on our brains."

Furthermore, nutritionist Toby King issued a warning about the potential dangers of this trend, reports Birmingham Live. He cautioned: "The trend requires you to sit still for hours at a time and not take in any food or liquids. This is a recipe for disaster, that could have terrifying consequences."

Toby cautioned flyers: "Plane cabins have low humidity levels to start with and can cause you to become dehydrated throughout your journey. If you aren't drinking any water when flying you are adding fuel to the fire."

He elaborated on the risks of not staying hydrated: "Keeping hydrated can help your skin and mucous membrane cells to keep bacteria from entering your body, and makes you more susceptible to infection, especially when you are surrounded by hundreds of others in a confined area. Getting sick at the beginning of your holiday isn't a great way to start it."

Moreover, he indicated the conceivable dangers associated with today's viral social media trends. "Immobility and dehydration can increase the risk of a blood clots when travelling, two factors that this trend is promoting," the nutritionist explained.

"If you do get a clot when travelling it can break off and cause a blockage of the arteries in the lung which is very serious and can cause death. This is one of the most dangerous trends I have seen on social media in a while, and while it looks innocent and a bit of fun on the surface, this could have deadly consequences and I would urge people to use sense when travelling."

Toby also offered some valuable advice for travellers looking to reduce their risk. He recommended flyers stay active: "To minimise your chance of clots when flying, you should move around ideally every hour or at least for 5 minutes every two hours. You should also drink at least one glass of water for every hour you are in the air."

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