Rawdog travel is in the headlines again, with experts questioning the wisdom and safety of the unmitigated travel experience which they say could lead to a range of devastating consequences for health.
“Rawdogging” a flight means to endure the journey without any distractions whatsoever. No holiday reading, no curating your own travel music playlist. No self-improvement with a language app. No watching the in-flight film, and no gaming. Some flyers take it to extremes, allowing themselves no sleep, no snacks and no beverages. The phenomenon is a kind of endurance challenge adopted by a digital native generation for whom ubiquitous connectivity seems to mean they have never had the “mindful” experience of just sitting and staring into space.
The idea of a digital detox is not in itself a bad thing and can be positive for mental health according to authorities such as the British National Health Service, which has published Ofcom data revealing “the proportion of people accessing the internet on their mobile had increased from 20% in 2008 to 72% in 2018. What’s more, 64% said the internet is an “essential part of their life”. At least 71%, according to the same data, said they never turn off their phone and 78% “could not live without it.”
Rawdogging rejects that dependence on the dopamine highs related to social media interaction, and extolls the virtues of existing without external entertainment or stimulation.
Dangerous machismo
But the machismo surrounding rawdogging as a travel trend, already evident from a name that describes an unprotected penis during sex, is causing alarm among health professionals. The BBC has reported that the craze is most popular among “athletic-looking young men” who are “posting videos of themselves on board, staring at the in-flight map or the safety instructions card, vowing to use the “power of the mind” to get them through.”
“It carries a message about mental toughness and self-discipline, which are historically regarded as masculine traits,” reports Euronews, citing Dr Gurpreet Kaur, an online clinical psychologist, who added that the perceived threats to traditional male identities posed by modern society mean “this trend may be more appealing to men who want to assert their masculinity through a display of the challenge and endurance required.”
“Idiots”
But with role models and sports stars such as Manchester City footballer Erling Haaland boasting about how “easy” it was for him to take a seven-hour flight with “no phone, no sleep, no water, no food”, health experts are pointing out how ill-advised the extreme versions of the trend are.
Erling Haaland: “Just raw dogged a 7 hour flight. No phone, no sleep, no water, no food. Only map. easy.”
byu/oklolzzzzs insoccer
Dr Gill Jenkins, quoted by the BBC, calls rawdoggers “idiots” and says “the whole thing about the risk of long-haul flying is that you’re at risk of dehydration. If you’re not moving you’re at risk of deep vein thrombosis, which is compounded by dehydration. Not going to the toilet, that’s a bit stupid. If you need the loo, you need the loo.”
Risks include bad breath, mental deterioration, heart disease and cancer
As well as deep vein thrombosis which can lead to strokes, the dangers of dehydration include fatigue, dizziness, mental deterioration, kidney stones, kidney disease and – disgustingly for the people around you on the plane – bad breath.
Meanwhile holding in your pee can cause infections such as cystitis, and retaining your poop when you need to go, causes a “buildup of gas and bloating” as well as more serious “functional motility disorders like IBS and constipation,” says Dr. Robert Segal, cited in Well & Good. Segal also notes that “the longer one holds in bowel movements, the harder the stool gets, and the more discomfort occurs.”
The consequences can be worse than mere discomfort too. Holding in poop also causes “a higher risk of developing chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis, according to Stefanie Helmbrecht, MD, and resident gastroenterologist at Lanserhof Sylt, in Germany. The practice can also cause “intestinal polyps, intestinal adhesions, intestinal cancer, and painful anal fissures, anal abscesses, or haemorrhoids, which usually also have an aggravating effect on bowel movements,” she says.
And when it comes to sleep, the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute says a lack of good quality shut eye can lead to heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and depression. Sleep deficiency is also linked to a higher chance of injury – so think about the impact on your training regimes lads.
Perhaps there is a difference between mindfulness and mindlessness after all.
