Scientists discover worrying effect of drinking alcohol before sleeping on plane

Before you reach for a drink on your next long-haul flight, scientists have discovered something they want you to know.

Scientists are urging travellers not to drink alcohol when flying long-haul following their study into the effects on passengers’ bodies when they fall asleep.

Researchers from the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at the German Aerospace Center studied the interacting effects of alcohol and sleep at altitude using a series of lab experiments.

They had 40 healthy people consume alcohol before sleeping in a sleep laboratory 53 metres above sea, or in an altitude chamber corresponding to 2438 metres above sea level.

When at cruising altitude the cabin pressure of an aircraft is usually 2438 metres or less.

The results found that when sleeping after moderate alcohol consumption, people’s blood oxygen saturations dropped to worrisome levels and heart rates increased.

Passengers who reach for alcoholic drinks to help them sleep on long flights are being warned against it. Picture: istock

“The combination of alcohol and in-flight hypobaric hypoxia [low oxygen concentration at high altitudes] reduced sleep quality, challenged the cardiovascular system and led to extended duration of hypoxaemia [low level of oxygen in the blood],” the report, published in the journal Thorax, said.

It said: “Even in these young and healthy subjects, critical oxygen desaturations below 90 per cent were registered.”

Study co-author Dr Eva-Maria Elmenhorst told NBC News that while they expected alcohol consumption at low air pressure to have an effect on people, they were “surprised to see that the effect was so strong.”

She urged flyers not to drink alcohol while on a plane.

“The oxygen saturation dropped to quite low levels during sleep,” she said.

“This is why I would recommend to avoid drinking alcohol even when someone is healthy.”

The researchers explained they wanted to do the study because passengers frequently consume alcoholic beverages during long-haul flights before falling asleep.

While this study looked at moderate alcohol consumption, the paper said higher doses of alcohol could amplify the 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 in-flight consumption of alcoholic beverages should be restricted,” it determined.