Air travel.
Whizzing through the sky without a care in the world.
Except the nausea, swollen feet, dehydration, and sluggish thoughts caused by oxygen deprivation.
Yep, without a care in the world.
Hi there Sky Captains, Julian here for DNews.
Flying is one of those dreaded necessities right up there with going to the dentist and
checking your bank statement.
It’s uncomfortable and scary, but at some point you’re probably going to have to do
it.
And now with the holidays upon us, people are flying home to see families and wondering
why it makes them miserable.
The air travel, not the families…
Hopefully
As it turns out airplanes are the perfect cocktail for messing with your body.
Even if you’re not the type to get airsick, there are a number of factors working against
you.
First and foremost is the low oxygen levels.
The higher you go the thinner the air gets, and at the altitudes commercial airliners
fly the air is so thin if you had to breathe it you would suffer from a severe case of
deadness.
To counteract this, airplanes pressurize air from outside, but it’s still not as much
oxygen as you’re probably used to.
Standard atmospheric pressure at sea level at 15 degrees centigrade with 0% relative
humidity is 101.325 kilo Pascals.
Airplanes pressurize air inside to about 75 kilo Pascals, which is equivalent to being
8000 feet or 2400 meters above sea level.
Contrary to popular belief, that’s not the reason why your feet swell.
Sitting and doing nothing will cause blood to pool in your legs at any altitude.
However the unintended side effect of that is your brain gets even less oxygen, and you
were already operating on 3 quarters the O2 you usually do.
That may be why that sudoku puzzle is kicking your butt all across Wyoming.
The pressure differentials are also responsible for that popping sensation in your ears on
takeoff and landing.
Below 6,000 feet the pressurization is shut off and the cabin pressure fluctuates to the
same pressure as the outside air.
Inside your head, the Eustachian tubes are doing the same, opening and closing until
the pressure in your middle ear matches the cabin pressure which is matching the outside
air as you descend from the height of Denver, Colorado.
So why not pressurize the cabin more?
Well in order to take the pressure differential the fuselage has to be strong, but it also
has to be light in order for the airplane to sort of… fly.
So there’s a limit to how much pressure it can take without popping like a balloon.
There’s another problem with the air up there too; it’s not as humid.
This can lead to dry mouth and eventually dehydration.
When you combine that with the lower oxygen levels, it means alcohol hits a lot harder
and you run the risk of becoming internet famous when a modern family editor live tweets
your sloppy drunkenness.
The solution?
Drink plenty of water before and during the flight, walk around and do leg exercises,
and for the love of god don’t sit near anyone with a lot of twitter followers.
If you want to know more about other airplane inconveniences, Anthony explains the truth
about cell phones on a plane here.
And is air travel worth the hassle for you?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments, don’t forget to subscribe, and I’ll see
you next time on DNews.