Stay Calm When Your Plane Hits Turbulence With This Simple Trick

When you're on a flight that hits a patch of turbulence it's natural to feel fearful as the plane seems to continuously fall and catch itself in midair. Many yell or make sounds that resemble people on a roller coaster, only there are no tracks attached to the aircraft. The good news is that nothing terrible has ever happened to a flight simply due to turbulence — beyond the passengers' discomfort, of course.  

Although turbulence can be severe at high altitudes, there is no reason to be nervous, since airplanes are created to withstand these conditions. However, staying calm is much easier said than done when you're the one on the on the plane, so the best tip to adhere to when turbulence strikes is to write your name backwards. As one pilot told NBC's Today, if you write your name over and over again with your non-dominant hand, you will be forced to focus harder on what you're writing than on the plane shaking around you. It also "disrupts [your] thinking" by making you use the other side of your brain for its motor functions as opposed to your more dominant side. 

Now, this method isn't foolproof. You might not feel completely at ease every time just by doing this, but it will certainly help calm the intensity of your nerves. Breathe and try to acknowledge that the turbulent air will pass soon.