Your OXYGEN saturation DROPS when flying! (blood SpO2 science test)
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- Опубликовано: 5 авг 2024
- What happens to your body during air travel? And why do you often experience discomfort while flying? That is the question I seek to answer in this video. I performed several measurements while flying that might explain why you and I experience discomfort in an airplane. I will also discuss some of the science behind this, and specifically I’ll focus on how the lower air pressure in the plane causes a reduction of oxygen in your blood. I found that while flying the amount of oxygen in my blood actually decreases to an amount where normally people in the hospital would be given extra oxygen.
Health consequences of air travel according to science! (SpO2 test)
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:00 Background
3:40 Results
7:22 Consequences flying for healthy people
8:40 Consequences flying for sick people
9:34 Summary/Conclusions
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The two scientific papers I mentioned:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17611205
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19826156
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Damn this channel is underrated
Thank you so much! Really appreciate it :-D
Great Video!!
Thank you for this information I am post covid and also have asthma I have always experienced shortness of breath and chest pressure while flying but never understood it until now again ty
I felt breathless and had to gasp for breath when descending to Glasgow yesterday on a BA airbus. It was not nice at all. Thankyou for confirming my suspicions it is connected with asthma and, I think borderline Copd.
Great video, I once took an Oximeter on a plane to see this very same thing. I'm a healthy and fit 30 something year old with no known medical issues, however when I try and sleep on long haul flights, I wake up gasping for air. I could never sleep longer than 5 mins and the lack of oxygen would make me really drowsy! I really wanted to sleep but couldn't - It doesn't happen on land, only flying and it feels like mild hypoxia or altitude sickness. There was a suggestion online that Altitude sickness and mild hypoxia seen in climbers can trigger sleep apnea, but have never solved it & still cannot sleep a wink on an overnight plane journey
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Great video, very interesting
Glad you enjoyed it Tony! Have a great day!
Wow really cool experiment thanks!
3:29 I wonder what the other passengers thought you were doing right there! :D
Haha, yes Marek, people looked at me weirdly sometimes. ;-) Though, I did get into some interesting conversations sometimes :-D
Amazing video….
I'd love to see a review of Ps02 accuracy on watches like my Garmin Fenix 5X Plus, will it accurately show the same?
Good 👍
I think it will be interesting to see how low/high the impact of hiking in the mountains is in comparison to this study.
For sure! I did a single measurement in Switzerland a while ago, and I did have a decreased SpO2 on the top of that mountain, though I need to perform better measurements to say if the relationship is the same.
Thank you for the scientific test. Looking forward to more smartwatch sleep test. Huawei gt2, Samsung, Apple.
Thanks Mikkel! Will do my best to test different devices over time :-D. Have a great day!
Thank you for putting so much time in to this, while it's not yielding too many benefits for you (yet).
Keep up the good work
This is really interesting whenever I used to fly I would experience lightheaded and dizziness on and off throughout the flight and after would feel quite rough and exhausted for a couple of days, even after short flights. I have since been diagnosed with Dysautonomia (POTS), but I am assuming that if my blood oxygen levels were dropping during flight that this most likely contributed to my symptoms.
That's awesome! This would explain why I fall asleep on planes easily and I can't concentrate easily. I usually get 93-95% with a pulse oximeter at sea level. Next time I fly I will measure this.
Thanks for commenting! Let us know what you find! Any idea why your SpO2/OxSat is somewhat lower than average?
@@TheQuantifiedScientist I am not sure. I have some mild asthma, but asymtomatic atm. My fitbit charge 3 shows cardio score (VO2 Max) of 42-46, which is good to very good for my age. RHR atm is 53 +/-1. However I don't do any sweat inducing exercise currently. Just walking the dog and being a parent.
A deeper breath or two will bring it to 95 or 96. Perhaps it is just me not wanting to breathe as much or forgetting to breathe or maybe the trigger for breathing is at a lower level than average. Maybe it will improve with a better exercise regime, not sure.
I had no idea that the cabins weren't pressurized to something closer to ground level (but it makes perfect sense). I suppose anyone who feels these affects when flying might also be more susceptible to altitude sickness if travelling in high-altitude places.
Hi Jed! Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if that what the case! Thanks for commenting, and have a great day!
I've had shortness of breath, chest pain, confusion, and rapid heart beat before too! But I was at sea level. Weird
Very interesting experiment, it'll be cool to see the long term effect on cabin crew and pilots.
Which continuous pulse oximeter would you recommend if I want to measure my SPO2 while sleeping at night?
Indeed, I also wonder how flight crews are affected by all the stuff they go through! They have an environment that is continuously changing. Also, their circadian rhythm must also get screwed up each time they take a long flight.
About the SpO2 at night, this I am not the most knowledgable on. I guess the biggest danger is the monitor falling off. I saw that Shervin recently presented this product: ruclips.net/video/8XjN3MqvbVs/видео.html . Though I have no personal experience with it, he mentions something about getting good access to the data. Sorry I cannot be of more help there :-).
Have a great day!
Will you be repeating this experiment while doing breathing exercises before, during and after your next flights? I just watched PPPeter's "Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Record Time (w/ Wim Hof Method)" RUclips video and it was very intriguing.
I wonder what the sp02 meter brand used
So interesting! You've got a new subscriber:)
Btw. Is that the Oura ring? If so: are you wearing it for a new video?
Welcome aboard! Thanks for subscribing!
I do have the Oura ring indeed, I made a couple of videos about it :-) !
@@TheQuantifiedScientist Thank you. I feel welcomed ;)
I saw some of the videos but I thought the outcome was that it was like 50-60% accurate? I haven't bought it because of you 🤔🤣
@@a.b.1184 Yes, for sleep the Oura ring is not the best. I can measure some other cool things though: ruclips.net/video/AK47cav1i28/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/VIfvRzP79Bs/видео.html. So it really depends on your goal :-)
Do you think that if a person has a portable oxygen concentrator for a long-haul flight, the levels of oxygen would remain steadily throughout? I trying to find information if the passenger is given oxygen the whole flight, whether it is 1 hour or 8 hours, would the drop of oxygen saturation be so significant or would it as if the passenger is on the ground? If the person has oxygen, could it be possible that the air pressure affect oxygen saturation even with the oxygen on? So many questions I know, but I'd appreciate your insight.
Boeing’s dreamliner actually has a lower cabin pressure at 6000 feet.
Have there been any studies on how the lower blood oxygen levels impact people who have existing hypoxic/anoxic injuries of the brain?
I ask as I have previously suffered Decompression Sickness ~ Type II Cerebral. Complicated by symptoms not originally treated & more than one event, plus an international flight further complicated by delayed hyperbaric treatment, which left me with an Acquired Brain Injury.
Approximately 14 years later I had 2 international flights, one of around 6 hours that also involved higher elevation levels than planned due to severe turbulence on the way home, the 2nd international flight was 10 hours.
It was after these flights that I became aware of symptoms that reminded me of those I suffered with my DCS. But this made no sense as I could not have the bends from a commercial flight.
After doctor visits & following up with the medical team that treated my original injury, I was informed that as I had an exisiting acquired brain injury there was every chance my injury had been exacerbated by the lower oxygen saturation levels. So the symptoms I had been experiencing were very similar & not my imagination, which is what I had initially thought.
But there is little to no research out there about this, therefore it is an unknown until too late.
Hey, I know this is not a sleep video but what do you think about blue light blocking glasses?
Hi Ivan, thanks for your good question! I actually answer that question in one of my video's: ruclips.net/video/MPDQ1Tt3y14/видео.html . Let me know if that answers it :-D . Have a great day!
Great content. I measured CO2 adjusted for pressure, some flights have over 5000 ppm some lower than 1000 ppm CO2 (eqiuvalent to ground level). people can feel discomfort at constant >1000 ppm already. I wonder how this contributes.
Hi Freddy! Thanks for commenting! That is surprising, since from what I understand they generally pump in a lot of (warmed up) fresh air from outside, which should have normal levels of oxygen. Any idea what might cause this difference you see between flights? Just a lack of pumping in fresh air in some airlines? How did you measure it?
At higher pressure the o2 % is the same the partial O2 gaspressure drops which makes it harder for our longs to absorb it
How are you sir I want to know that oxygen level of aeroplane is same like ground level maintan when plane flying high attitude 41000 please explain little bit sir we can breath easily there
Any idea why my oxygen sat levels drop to 40% 50% when I walk 15 feet or putting on my shoes?
I been bed ridden because I'm afraid I will die since I am.breathless and feel like I'm having heart attack
Hi Moni, sounds like you are having a tough time, I hope it resolves itself soon. I am no medical doctor, so I don't want to speculate what could cause this. I cannot imagine what could make SpO2 drop that drastically, that quickly, so please consult your doctors and show them what you described. All the best!
How can we minimize the impacts of lower oxygen levels & low humidity in a plane? Breath work, certain cardio activities, could they make flight travel less impactful on our bodies? Can we give ourselves oxygen or somehow increase humidity around our seat?
Also are you wearing 2 Oura Rings?!z
Hi Shervin! Thanks for your comment, all very good questions. So, first, having extra oxygen is theoretically possible, and airlines will provide it for patients with certain lung conditions (as far as I am aware). However, I expect healthy people will not be allowed to take this in an aircraft. I guess the most important thing to do about the humidity is drinking a lot of water, since you want to make sure your body retains enough water. I expect cardio activities might actually lower your SpO2 on the short term, though I think in the experiment I mentioned they had people exercise and it did not seem to have major effects. Breath work I am not sure about, though it might be tough to keep those up continuously/intermittently the whole flight, and the effects of the lower air pressure seem to kick in rather fast.
So to answer your general question: what can we do about it? Well, I am not sure... The best/easiest thing would be if airlines structurally increase air pressure to 6000ft. However, other people have more knowledge about this than I do :-)
Thanks again for your great questions! Have a great day!
PS. Just wearing 1 Oura ring, the other one is a "normal" ring :-)
Living in the mountains may impact this positive. The body has a higher amount of red bloodcells in cause of the inefficient oxygenconsumption. The SpO2 rate is also low, but effect of sicknesses are mostly not existant.
To minimize the impact, drink water and breathwork with fully inhale and just letting go at the exhale, and no pause nor retention in breathing, should work. It's a derivative from the Wim Hof Method breathing itself derivated from pranayama.
Been going on 3 years doctors check my blood sat only when I'm sitting and it reads 99% but its when attempting physical activity like walking 15 feet its when this attack happens
You could try using a pulse oxomiter if you haven’t yet and record the data of both pulse and SpO2
@@Aw_tig yes I have and I do and oxygen levels have droped to 55%the lowest recorded and 77% pulse is at 37 when strong attack occurred and other times it's 70-80
@@monimendoza5583 sounds like you need to find a different doctor, they should be running some tests.
@@Aw_tig they have sent me to lung specialist my lungs are great, I have heart valve problems from wisdom teeth that were rotted for 9 years I got blood infection and Sepsis with septic shock, I don't understand I tell them my heart can't pump like it used to and I have anemia so low oxygenation in blood, with oxygen therapy I can avoid living this hell that will lead to brain damage, organ failure etc. But they pull same test pulse oximeter and take 9 steps on a flat surface and do it slow!! I have to be in a daily type surrounding like park, or the beach, or just any public street even to get out of my car or from getting up and sitting down so fast I just about die with lack of oxygen it's terrifying....so they're test always shows 95%oxygen so they see nothing wrong, I've given up arguing
Do you code? Have you worked in embedded systems, like with CAN? This is what a wearable medical device can use.
Hi n v! Yes, I code, that is how I do my analysis. What kind of device is CAN (it is quite a difficult word to google ;-) )? Have a great day!
@@TheQuantifiedScientist CAN stands for controller area network. it's a protocol used in automotives and various other industrial equipment with embedded software. it would work well for the kinds of devices you are testing but I don't know if it's used.