What do long fl ights do to our bodies?
Original article published by National Geographic, April 5th, 2024 on What do long flights do to our bodies?
By Terry Ward
From dehydration and muscle soreness to nausea and indigestion, the typical discomfort and pain can all be explained by unnaturalconditions on long flights.
If you’ve taken a long flight in a seat with limited recline recently, the discomfort of the experience is likely stillpainfully fresh.
While airline seat size and pitch (aka legroom) have shrunk since the 1990s, time passengers spend in the air isnoticeably increasing.
When Qantas launches its nonstop Sydney to London route in late 2025, it will be the longest flight in the world at 20 hours of flying time. Current honors go to Singapore Airlines’ New York to Singapore route, which clocks in at
The discomfort of long flights goes beyond cramped positions—there’s also dry air that can make your throat, nose,and skin feel dry, and air pressure changes while ascending and descending that can affect your sinuses. Worstcase, flying could become deadly if a blood clot forms in your extremities and moves to your lungs.
But experts say most of us don’t have to worry. “Generally, flying is safe for everybody and the problems only occurwhen you have an underlying condition,” says Explorers Club fellow Michael J. Manyak, a physician specializing inurology and expedition medicine.
Experts break down how your body reacts to long flight times, and what you can do to mitigate discomfort.
Dry air and changes in air pressure
About 50 percen of the air circulating in-flight is pulled in from outside the plane at high and dry altitudes—so it’sgenerally far less humid than what you’re used to breathing on the ground, Manyak says. This environment cancause your eyes, nose and mouth to feel excessively dry.
“Your mucosal areas are drying out,” he says. “The dry air contributes to a lack of lubrication in your body’ssystems.” Drinking plenty of water before and during your flight will help to keep you more comfortable andimprove your circulation, too.
And while some respiratory conditions like asthma can be exacerbated by cold, dry air, most people don’t have toworry about symptoms beyond discomfort, Manyak adds.
Air pressure changes during take off and landing cause air in the sinuses to change and can result in pain in thenose and ears for some people, says Laleh Gharahbaghian, physician and clinical professor of emergency medicineat Stanford University.
“This is true for those experiencing sinus disease most profoundly, and felt only mildly as ‘ears needing to pop’ forhealthy folks,” she says.
Gharahbaghian recommends taking decongestants before your flight, drinking water, and taking anti-inflammatory medicine if you have a cold or congestion.
Speaking of colds—while it might feel like you get sick or catch a cold every time you fly, Manyak says airports,“where everyone is mingling in waiting areas and there are no air filters,” are more likely where the real exposure curs. According to the IATA, air in the cabin is half HEPA filetered, half fresh from outside the plane, and also renewes 20-30 times an hour.
( How clean is the air on planes?)
Muscle soreness
If you don’t get the opportunity to move around, you’re holding a position—that means prolonged engagement ofyour muscles, which leads to soreness.
Gharahbaghian says it’s not unusual for people to feel stiffness in their back, neck, or even their thighs whileenduring the same position for a long period of time.
Getting up to walk up and down the aisle when it’s safe or even adjusting your body and doing things like heelraises while seated can help, she says. Most injuries can feel worse after sitting for a long period, since inflammation can build without movement to flushit out, says Kevin Lees, director of chiropractic operations at The Joint Chiropractic. Back injuries are no different,of course, and prolonged flexion (sitting for hours) can create pressure on the disks, rubbery cushions between thevertebrae of your spine—especially your lower back.
Slowed digestion, difficulty breathing
By sitting for too long, your digestive system is also affected, Lees says, as the movement of food slows on its waythrough the intestines.
“If you are sedentary, you do not get the physical stimulation to the intestines,” says Manyak. “This is one of thereasons why we try to get patients up and walking soon after surgery. It is also good for circulation and woundhealing.”
(Jet lag doesn’t have to ruin your trip. Here’s what you can do.)
A slumped posture can restrict movement of the ribs, leading to slower and shallower breathing, too, Lees says.“Shallow breathing can lead to decreased oxygen intake…This can cause foggy thinking, dizziness, and evenfatigue.”
Gastric reflux can result from a slumped posture, too, and has the potential to cause nausea, says Lees.
Manyak says any potential nausea or motion sickness from turbulence tends to be short-lived, since pilots try todivert from turbulent areas as soon as possible. “Motion sickness goes away almost immediately with stabilizationof the environment,” he says.
DVT and blood clots on planes
By far, the biggest risk to your body on a long-haul flight is something that can also affect you on the ground whenyou remain for too long in a restricted position.
“The worst thing is deep venous thrombosis (DVT), or getting a blood clot in the legs,” Gharahbaghian says. “If ablood clot goes from your legs to your lungs, it can become a life-threatening problem.”
Signs of DVT include swelling, throbbing, or pain in one leg, says Manyak. “The pain occurs because you haveimpeded the blood supply and its return to the heart…The veins involved swell, causing pain.” There's a litany of factors that could predispose fliers to DVT, says Manyak, who himself learned he had a hereditary blood-clotting disorderafter experiencing a clot after a trans-Atlantic flight.
These factors include a family history of blood clots, being pregnant or having recently given birth, having cancer or undergoing active or recent cancer treatment, taking birth control, says Manyak.
Getting up to walk the aisles every hour or so during a flight, doing heel raises while at your seat and wearingcompression socks, which improve circulation in the legs, are a few of the things you can do to keep blood frompooling in your lower extremities on long flights, Manyak says.
It’s good advice for anybody who feels stir-crazy just thinking about their next long haul flight. “The biggest thingthat causes discomfort for travelers during a long haul flight is the fact that you’re not moving,” Manyak says.
About The Joint Chiropractic
The Joint Corp. revolutionized access to chiropractic care when it introduced its retail health care business model in 2010. Today, it is the nation’s largest operator, manager and franchisor of chiropractic clinics through The Joint Chiropractic network. The company is making quality care convenient and affordable, while eliminating the need for insurance, for millions of patients seeking pain relief and ongoing wellness. With 800 locations nationwide and nearly 11 million patient visits annually, The Joint Chiropractic is a key leader in the chiropractic industry. Ranked number one on Forbes’ 2022 America’s Best Small Companies list, number three on Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list and consistently named to Franchise Times “Top 400+ Franchises” and Entrepreneur’s “Franchise 500®” lists, The Joint Chiropractic is an innovative force, where healthcare meets retail. For more information, visit www.thejoint.com.
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