The next time you’re at an airport you may want to think twice before indulging in a pre-flight pint.
For drinking alcohol when flying really could affect your heart health, German scientists have warned.
Researchers found the combo lowers the amount of oxygen in sleeping passengers blood (SpO2) and raises heart rate, even in people who are young and healthy.
But this isn’t the only risk to your health by drinking thousands of feet above ground.
Experts also believe cabin pressure can make you feel drunker than you normally would and even speed up intoxication.
The NHS recommends people drink no more than 14 ‘units’ of alcohol — around six glasses of wine, or pints of beer — per week. This itself has been watered down over the past few decades in light of studies illustrating the health dangers of alcohol
Researchers found the combo lowers the amount of oxygen in sleeping passengers blood (SpO2) and raises heart rate, even in people who are young and healthy. And they suggested it might even be time to consider restricting alcohol on long-haul flights
Dr Clare Morrison, a registered GP and online doctor at MedExpress said: ‘When on a plane, the barometric pressure in the cabin of a plane is lower than it normally is.
‘This decreased pressure means that the body finds it harder to absorb oxygen — this can produce light-headedness or hypoxia.
‘In other words, the lower level of oxygen in your blood means that you may seem more drunk in the air than you would on the ground after consuming the same amount of alcohol.’
Meanwhile, Dr Nick Knight told The Telegraph: ‘At cruising altitude, most cabins are pressurised to the equivalent of 6,000-8,000 feet above sea level.
‘Under such conditions, less oxygen will be taken up into your bloodstream compared to if you were at sea level.
‘The knock-on effect of this is that your brain may experience a very mild reduction in the amount of oxygen that it is used to.
‘This is called “hypoxia” and is what is much more likely to give you that sensation of being more drunk.’
He added: ‘Various other factors whip up the perfect storm in terms of getting more intoxicated, and faster.
‘Dehydration — people tend to drink much less water, and the filtered cabin air is dry.
‘An empty stomach — no-one really enjoys plane food. Limited movement, so you’re metabolising the alcohol slower.
According to the UK’s flight regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the low air pressure associated with flying effectively also thins the blood and theoretically strengthens the effects of alcohol.
When it comes to the type of alcohol, travellers may also want to steer clear of carbonated drinks like champagne or even alcohol with fizzy mixers.
Limited research has long suggested these can raise blood alcohol content (BAC) quicker than the likes of beer or cider, making you feel drunk faster.
One Australian study published in the American Journal of Medicine also found participants who drank a cocktail made with diet soda containing an artificial sweetener had a peak blood alcohol level of 0.05 percent compared to 0.03 percent without the non-diet mixer.
Scientists have suggested this is because the sugar in regular mixers slows down the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.
Highly concentrated beverages, like vodka or gin, are also absorbed faster by your body.
Leading experts have rowed about the harms of moderate drinking for decades.
It came under the spotlight last year when WHO officials warned that no amount of alcohol is safe.
Latest data, gathered by the World Health Organization and compiled by Oxford University’s platform Our World in Data, shows the UK’s wine consumption has soared to 3.3 litres of pure alcohol annually (2019), up on the 0.3 litres recorded almost 60 years earlier in 1961. It now accounts for over a third (33.7 per cent) of all alcohol consumed across the country and sits almost level with beer (36 per cent) which has plummeted from the 5.8 litres logged in 1961 to 3.5 litres today
Scientists across the board, however, agree that excessive alcohol consumption can permanently damage the liver, cause an array of cancers and drive up blood pressure.
The NHS recommends people drink no more than 14 ‘units’ of alcohol — around six glasses of wine, or pints of beer — per week.
This itself has been watered down over the past few decades in light of studies illustrating the health dangers of alcohol.
Meanwhile, the US says women should drink no more than seven standard drinks a week and men can have 14.
These measures include a medium-sized glass of wine and 340ml of beer, close to a regular bottle size.
Under the German study, researchers tracked the sleep cycle, heart rate and blood oxygen levels of 48 participants aged between 18 and 40.
Participants were split into two groups — half slept in a lab in normal air pressure conditions, while the rest were in an altitude chamber that mimicked cabin pressure during an airplane’s cruising altitude.
In each group, half of those (12) slept for four hours having drunk no alcohol, while other 12 slept for four hours having drunk the equivalent of two cans of beer or two glasses of wine.
People in the sleep lab who had not drunk alcohol had oxygen saturation levels of around 96 per cent, and a heart rate of 64 beats per minute.
For drinkers in the simulated cabin pressure chamber, this fell to around 85 per cent and 88 beats per minute.
Those who slept in the chamber but did not drink had oxygen levels of 88 per cent and a heart rate of 73 beats per minute, showing alcohol had a significant impact above altitude effects.
Writing in the journal Thorax, researchers said: ‘Higher doses of alcohol could amplify observed effects, potentially escalating the risk of health complications and medical emergencies during flight, especially among older individuals and those with pre-existing medical conditions.
‘Our findings strongly suggest that the inflight consumption of alcoholic beverages should be restricted.’
DO YOU DRINK TOO MUCH ALCOHOL? THE 10 QUESTIONS THAT REVEAL YOUR RISK
One screening tool used widely by medical professionals is the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Tests). Developed in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, the 10-question test is considered to be the gold standard in helping to determine if someone has alcohol abuse problems.
The test has been reproduced here with permission from the WHO.
To complete it, answer each question and note down the corresponding score.
YOUR SCORE:
0-7: You are within the sensible drinking range and have a low risk of alcohol-related problems.
Over 8: Indicate harmful or hazardous drinking.
8-15: Medium level of risk. Drinking at your current level puts you at risk of developing problems with your health and life in general, such as work and relationships. Consider cutting down (see below for tips).
16-19: Higher risk of complications from alcohol. Cutting back on your own may be difficult at this level, as you may be dependent, so you may need professional help from your GP and/or a counsellor.
20 and over: Possible dependence. Your drinking is already causing you problems, and you could very well be dependent. You should definitely consider stopping gradually or at least reduce your drinking. You should seek professional help to ascertain the level of your dependence and the safest way to withdraw from alcohol.
Severe dependence may need medically assisted withdrawal, or detox, in a hospital or a specialist clinic. This is due to the likelihood of severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the first 48 hours needing specialist treatment.
