Twitching passengers

[spiggy_topes]

Having sat in far too many departure lounges over the last week...

Has anyone else noticed how many passengers - usually male, under 30 - have uncontrollable twitches? I'm not talking about a Tourette-type affliction, just (typically) people who while seated continually waggle a foot, or regularly bump their knee up and down, often for minutes at a time. It's distracting to watch, and I would hate to be seated next to someone who did this in flight, as it would be awkward to ask them to stop.

Seems to be world-wide - over the last two weeks I've see it in the QP in Sydney, and at Muscat, Dubai and Singapore airports. Psychological? Nervousness? Would be interested to hear other views.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

boredom ?

 

[oz_mark]

I can't say I have particularly noticed this happening. But now that you have mentioned it, I will probably start noticing it everywhere I go.

 

[wiz]

If you're talking about swaying your hind leg back and foirth, I sometimes do that when I'm relaxed or just for some circulation, but usually not in public. I have a friend who does it constantly, and when I comment, he says he knows he is doing it and enjoys doing it! So I personally couldn't care less if the person next to me was bouncing their leg back and forth (except if in a professional environment), as long as it didn't come into my space.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Maybe they know it annoys you, so they do it more?

 

[JohnK]

You wouldn't want to sit next to me then.

What causes it? I don't really know. Possibly boredom. Possibly signs of depression.

My mother notices it happening more than I do and she does not like me doing it. Sometimes I am conscious it is happening other times I am not aware. When I do notice it is happening I am actually enjoying it and move my heel up and down with greater frequency.

 

[dajop]

In built anti-DVT mechanism!

 

[pacblue]

God, you must be bored.

Who cares ?

I usually have better things to do with my time while in the lounge than watching the personal peccadilloes of others.

Read a book, play with your blackberry, get a life.

 

[serfty]

Having sat in far too many departure lounges over the last week...

Has anyone else noticed how many passengers - usually male, under 30 - have uncontrollable twitches? I'm not talking about a Tourette-type affliction, just (typically) people who while seated continually waggle a foot, or regularly bump their knee up and down, often for minutes at a time. ...

Maybe they have been watching this Video or checking out this Health in Flight info.

 

[bluRider]

i've got to admit to being one of those under 30 male twitching passengers - i tend to bump my legs up and down. What i have noticed is that it seems to afflict quite a few people i know - funnily enough, most of them are engineers! not sure what this means, but maybe the gene that controls your engineering and technical ability is closely linked to having annoying twitches???

i think its part boredom, part over active metabolism while confined in a small space, and part to keep the blood flowing, which conveniently helps prevent DVT ... but thats not the reason why i do it since its not something that i tend to do consciously! but what i definitely don't do is invade another person's space, cos i hate it myself

 

[Soundguy]

Too much electronic entertainment.

Kids & young people that do a lot of TV / video games etc have considerably lower IQ and other issues like the twitching. I have often noticed it with the ones I employ.... throw in a bit of boozing, smoking, occasional pot and bad diet and you are left with a real dimwit - a self imposed semi retarded person who is going no-where much in life. I kid you not.

Not sure how it effects older people, their brains probably evaporate also.

 

[vaccav]

I have had "twitchiness" for most of my life - it's extremely uncomfortable but I can tell you a bit more about it. I found that I wanted to "waggle" my foot constantly. I arranged for my GP to refer me to a specialist and, as a result, I got to the bottom of the issue.

Broadly, it is caused by poor circulation in the lower legs - it is felt particularly in the calf area. In my case, it is exacerbated by being tall - the blood needs to get pumped all the way from the feet up to the heart. For tall people, the feet are a long way from the heart and so the heart can be less effective at pumping the blood around.

The flow of blood can be adversely affected by certain foodstuffs and but this can be easily fixed.

Caffeine, alcohol, chocolate and acidic fruits all have an adverse impact. In addition, high quantities of articificial additives and preservatives can have an adverse affect. The reason you see it in the departure lounge is because people are often drinking there. Alcohol reduces the effectiveness of the muscles in the body - even the tiny ones in the veins (what are they called again ?) that help pump the blood around. You see it less in pubs and bars because most of those involve a lot of standing area (whereas the QP has very little standing area). Standing alleviates the issue (see below).

This issue can also been seen a lot in restaurants - people are often drinking wine with their meal, but need to sit with their feet tucked under their chair. Tucking the feet under a hard wooden chair and bending the knees tightly around the chair edge does not help with the circulation.

There are a number of ways to fix the problem - and if you suffer this acutely like me, the following help:
- "waggling" the foot gets the blood flowing. That's why people do it. However, it looks wacko and doesn't provide as much relief as some of the other options.
- raising the feet above the heart will provide relief in about 10 minutes. Again, this is not very practical - try doing it in economy class.
- avoiding alcohol, chocolate, etc helps but that's no fun !
- taking minute quantities of asprin will thin the blood. Thinner blood circulates more easily. Occassionally, I take one third of an asprin tablet. I don't like the idea of taking a lot of tablets so I try to avoid this. However, it is a great way to fix the issue.
- Paroven. Paroven is a non-prescription medication that, apparently, addresses the issue. However, I haven't found it very effective.
- standing up alleviates the issue.

I see people have mentioned boredeom, depression, etc as causes of this. As far as I am aware, these are not causes. In my case, it's very much a physical issue.

Hope that helps ! The specialist wasn't cheap so feel free to get in touch if this impacts you .. .. ..

Vaccav

 

[NYCguy]

Too much electronic entertainment.

Kids & young people that do a lot of TV / video games etc have considerably lower IQ and other issues like the twitching. I have often noticed it with the ones I employ.... throw in a bit of boozing, smoking, occasional pot and bad diet and you are left with a real dimwit - a self imposed semi retarded person who is going no-where much in life. I kid you not.

Not sure how it effects older people, their brains probably evaporate also.

Whoa... here's my nomination for Employer of the Year!

 

[Soundguy]

Whoa... here's my nomination for Employer of the Year!

Thanks for that, need it putting up with some of them ; repeating basic instructions over and over again to twitching kids with a glazed look and all that.

But I didn't mean to imply all young people are all like that - of course not. And some people will have a legitimate medical condition (as we read above) but clearly this would be only a tiny % of people that are twitchy.

 

[oz_mark]

In built anti-DVT mechanism!

So JohnK has already evolved in response to DVT! Clever!

 

[codash1099]

Not sure how it effects older people, their brains probably evaporate also.

Hey, I object to that remark. there's no way my brain is evaporat................

 

[SF&]

God, you must be bored.

Who cares ?

I usually have better things to do with my time while in the lounge than watching the personal peccadilloes of others.

Read a book, play with your blackberry, get a life.

gotta agree with you mate

wot the?