What travelling on a plane does to your body – from confused tastebuds to heightened emotions
EVER noticed how tomato juice tastes so much better on a plane and that your ankles suddenly seem twice the size mid-flight?
Well, that's because air travel really does change your body.
Being that high up can mess with your circulation, taste and even your mental health.
Sounds odd but when you think about how air travel is essentially us paying to have our bodies catapulted through the air at a zillion miles an hour, maybe it makes sense.
We reveal the four areas that change when we're sky high:
Our taste changes
“It sounds strange, but I never order tomato juice unless I’m on an airplane,” Dr Benjamin Tweel, an ear, nose and throat specialist tells .
“It just tastes so good on a flight.”
And there's a reason behind that.
In 2010, Lufthansa Airlines to find out why it was selling as much tomato juice as beer.
They found that cabin pressure conditions affect taste buds in a manner similar to what happens when you have a cold.
Another bunch of scientists looked into why umami (meaning “savoriness” in Japanese) tastes so good at 30,000 feet.
Their study concluded that the background noise on an airplane (that humming white noise we are all so familiar with) like those found in tomatoes, making them taste even better.
Sweet flavors were dulled, and savory was enhanced.
So that's why you crave nuts over chocolate on planes.
Our limbs swell
It's not rocket science - we all know that sitting still on long haul flights is a risk factor in developing things like deep vein thrombosis.
Our limbs swell, particularly around the ankle.
And the ankle is important because it pumps fluids away from the legs back to the heart.
Orthopedic foot surgery chief, Dr Ettore Vulcano, says that if you’ve been sitting for four or more hours, the swelling will start to kick in.
This increases in people who are elderly, diabetic, have varicose veins, and those who recently had surgery, especially in the abdomen or legs.
He suggests wearing compression socks to fly so that you "squeeze the fluids that would otherwise accumulate in the legs".
Make sure you're getting up to walk up and down the aisle too.
And if you can't get up or you have a desk job that involves sitting down for ages, try just moving the ankle up and down to activate the pumping mechanism.
We become more emotional
Ever found yourself bawling at a rubbish film on a tiny screen when you're on board?
That's because flying can make you more emotional.
Curtis Reisinger, a psychologist with Northwell Health, claims that your senses are heightened.
We get more anxious
And those heightened senses can also make you feel more anxious and worried.
“Essentially, you’re at a heightened level of alertness and arousal, so everything is felt more intensely," says Dr Reisinger.
Researchers have referred to the phenomenon as the "Mile Cry Club".
It's all down to a perceived lack of control, says Dr Jodi De Luca.
It’s not just psychological or emotional, it’s also a physical and physiological event.
It’s never any one variable. And that’s important,” she says.
“We are cognitively, psychologically, emotionally [compromised], and now we’re physiologically compromised. The set-up is perfect for an emotional vulnerability,” she told .
It's not just mentally that anxiety can affect you at 30,000ft either.
“If you’re anxious or frightened, that can dull your ability to taste foods you normally enjoy,” Dr Reisinger says.
“Physiologically, our focus has now shifted from the food sensations to the heightened sense of threat.”
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But there are things you can do to deal with the crushing anxiety.
Dr Jodi suggests doing puzzles, video games or eating to get over it.
But then again, if the plane is changing the way you taste food...maybe scrap the last one.
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