New study uncovers disturbing effects of drinking alcohol on a plane
Having a few bevvies while kicking off your summer holiday is a rite of passage for the majority of Brits, as let's have it right, we know how to get the party started - even on a plane.
After getting settled in your seats, it's nice to sit back, relax and order a few tipples from the passing service trolley before falling into something of a tipsy slumber and waking up in paradise.
However, holidaymakers have now been warned that they ought to reconsider this travel ritual after a new study found that boozing onboard a flight before dozing off can have a concerning effect on your health.
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Boffins in Germany have discovered that the combination of alcohol during the journey and the low cabin pressure at cruising altitude are a recipe for disaster for a person's heart.
The study, which was published on Monday (3 June) in the journal Thorax, explained that when passengers fall asleep after knocking a few drinks back, their blood oxygen levels plummet and their heart rates increase.
Even travellers who have age on their side and are seemingly healthy aren't immune to this, according to the research conducted by a team at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine.
Experts assessed 48 people - aged between 18 and 40 - over two nights to try and find out what the impact of drinking onboard a flight, AKA in a low pressure environment, would be.
Some had a kip in a sleep laboratory, while the other participants were in an altitude chamber.
Both consumed alcohol before one of the nights.
Experts explained that the findings from the study prove that alcohol and combined cabin pressure led to blood oxygen levels dropping and heart rates increasing - and that sinking a few during a flight is 'an underestimated health risk that could be easily avoided'.
"It may be beneficial to consider altering regulations to restrict the access to alcoholic beverages on board," the scientists said.
The mixture of low oxygen concentration at high altitudes and alcohol in your system was found to have disturbed participants' sleep quality, 'challenged the cardiovascular system' and caused prolonged low blood oxygen levels.
The authors noted: "Together these results indicate that, even in young and healthy individuals, the combination of alcohol intake with sleeping under hypobaric conditions poses a considerable strain on the cardiac system and might lead to exacerbation of symptoms in patients with cardiac or pulmonary diseases."
Young and healthy holidaymakers most likely won't experience any serious harm to their hearts from drinking during a flight, but Dr Elmenhorst said 'the decreased oxygen saturation together with the increase in heart rate could exacerbate pre-existing medical conditions'.
She told NBC News: "We were surprised to see that the effect was so strong. Please don't drink alcohol while being on an airplane. The oxygen saturation dropped to quite low levels during sleep.
"This is why I would recommend to avoid drinking alcohol even when someone is healthy."
Topics: Alcohol, Food And Drink, Health, Science, Travel, Sleep
Olivia Burke