New study reveals potential dangers of drinking alcohol on flights

If you’re heading to the friendly skies this holiday season, think twice before buying alcohol on board. While most travelers enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail to unwind during their flight, recent research found that drinking alcohol on airplanes can have a harmful effect on the human body. According to experts, drinking at high altitudes puts a strain on the cardiovascular system since it lowers the extent of oxygen within the blood, causes dehydration, and more.

“Why not just avoid drinking it in a situation that is stressful for the body?” said study writer Eva-Maria Elmenhorst National Geographic.

In addition to the stress of navigating TSA, baggage and boarding, air travel is inherently taxing on the human body. Although planes use pressurized systems to assist mitigate the results, reaching high altitudes lowers the oxygen level within the plane’s cabin, which correspondingly lowers the oxygen level in passengers’ blood, in line with pulmonologist Dr. Colin Church, in line with the New York TimesAs a result, the body instinctively finds ways to adapt to those environments, explained Dr. Andrew Luks, a physician and professor of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine on the University of Washington.

“Your heart rate is faster, you breathe more — either you take more breaths per minute and/or you take deeper breaths,” Luks said, in line with National Geographic“(There are) a whole range of physiological responses in the body, most of which are designed to help the body adapt to and compensate for low oxygen conditions.”

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Along with the added effects of alcohol, these aspects can have various effects on travelers depending on their health, age and physiology. The study found that even healthy participants experienced moderate cardiac stress, comparable to what you would possibly experience while walking, when alcohol and altitude are combined. Although young, healthy individuals are more more likely to tolerate low blood oxygen levels, also often called hypoxemia, these conditions could cause tissue damage. On the opposite hand, experts say the implications of combining alcohol and altitude could also be more serious for older people or those with pre-existing heart or respiratory conditions, increasing the likelihood of an in-flight medical emergency.

In addition to its cardiovascular effects, alcohol can affect sleep. While the study confirms how quickly a glass of wine or cocktail will help passengers go to sleep, the study found that alcohol can ultimately affect the standard of sleep.

“When you drink a lot of alcohol, it has a depressant effect and makes you feel sleepy,” explained Mariann Piano, a substance abuse expert and professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University, in line with National Geographic. “But when you sleep, your blood alcohol level goes down, and at certain blood alcohol levels, it becomes more stimulating and wakes you up.”

Study participants who woke up more often after high altitude combined alcohol and stayed at the identical altitude, making them feel less rested the subsequent day.

While experts ultimately recommend against drinking alcohol while flying, if it’s essential to, they suggest having one drink during your flight. To minimize the results of altitude and alcohol, follow up with water to avoid dehydration, and monitor how you are feeling at the top of your flight.

“Go have a beer or a glass of wine,” Luks concluded. “But don’t overdo it.”