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While Air Canada recently announced free beer and wine for domestic flights, a new study suggests that drinking on planes may need a rethink.
In an article published in the medical journal Thorax earlier this month, German researchers examined the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on passengers’ sleep, oxygen saturation and heart rate during long-haul flights.
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Their findings suggest that alcohol, combined with the low oxygen levels on planes, can significantly impact health, including leading to an increased heart rate and decreased REM sleep quality.
The study involved 48 adults sleeping in a simulated aircraft environment, which recreated the atmospheric pressure and overall conditions of a plane. The participants slept in the environment twice, once after consuming the alcohol equivalent of two glasses of wine and once without.
In each session, the participants slept for four hours.
In addition to the heart rate and sleep quality impacts, alcohol also reduces blood oxygen saturation, which can impair the function of organs like the brain, heart and kidneys.
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Even healthy individuals experienced significant cardiac strain and prolonged hypoxia, where the body doesn’t get enough oxygen, in the study. The findings suggest that there are health risks for all passengers but especially those with cardiac or pulmonary conditions.
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For those with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome or obesity hypoventilation syndrome, researchers suggest avoiding alcohol in the 12 hours preceding and during air travel.
“Moreover, public awareness of this topic should be raised through patient charities, public campaigns and written health advice of airlines,” the researchers wrote.
“Drinking on airplanes is not usually a good idea. It sets the stage for poor sleep and cardiac events by lowering oxygen saturation and increasing heart rate,” Lindsay Malone, a professor at the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, told Travel + Leisure.
“And keep in mind that your health usually takes a hit with travel anyway — extended times sitting, more eating out, less time to exercise, poor sleep due to time changes, dehydration and more.”
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