TThe next time you board a long flight and decide to have an alcoholic drink before taking a nap, avoid the temptation.
A new study, published in the medical journal Chest on Monday found that when people fell asleep after drinking alcohol in a low atmospheric pressure environment similar to that of airplanes, oxygen in their blood decreased and their heart rate increased. Researchers have observed this trend even in young, healthy people.
“Even in young, healthy individuals, the combination of alcohol intake and sleep under hypobaric conditions places considerable strain on the cardiac system and can lead to exacerbation of symptoms in patients with heart or lung disease,” the researchers said in the study.
“Higher doses of alcohol may amplify these observed effects, potentially increasing the risk of health complications and medical emergencies during flight, especially among older individuals and those with pre-existing medical conditions,” the researchers continued. “Our findings strongly suggest that consumption of alcoholic beverages on board should be restricted.”
To conduct the study, researchers divided 48 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 40 into two groups: the first went to a sleep laboratory with atmospheric pressure at sea level, and the second went to an altitude chamber with atmospheric pressure similar to that of air. planes traveling at cruising altitude, NBC News reported. In each group, 12 participants slept four hours after consuming alcohol, the equivalent of two cans of beer or two glasses of wine. The other 12 in each group slept without consuming alcohol.
The experiment took a two-day break and then the roles of the participants were reversed – participants who consumed alcohol before bed slept without consuming alcohol and vice versa.
Participants who drank alcohol before sleeping in the altitude chamber had their blood oxygen saturation decreased to 85% on average, the study found. The heart rate increased to an average of 88 beats per minute, likely to compensate for the lower oxygen levels.
In comparison, those who drank alcohol at sea level before bed had their blood oxygen saturation dropping to 95% and their heart rate rising to 77 beats per minute, the study found.
See more information: Another study suggests that drinking is not good for your health
Healthy individuals typically have an oxygen saturation between 95% to 100%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts say that a oxygen saturation below 90% is a cause for concern.
Researchers told NBC News they hope people who like to drink on flights will reconsider next time, given the results of this study.
“We were surprised to see that the effect was so strong,” said Dr. Eva-Maria Elmenhorst, one of the study’s authors and deputy in the department of sleep and human factors research at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at the German Aerospace Center in Cologne. , Germany, told NBC News. “Please do not drink alcohol while on a plane.”
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This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
