[PHOTOS] This Is What Flying Does To Your Body

4^min

We all know that flying tinkers with our bodies and this is always made clear by our messy post-plane hair and our overpowering jet lag.

But being in the air causes bodies to react in some ways that are not as obvious.

1-On a plane, your taste buds go numb

According to a 2010 study commissioned by Lufthansa, people on the plane cannot blame the airplane food for the undesirable taste because taste buds go numb during the flight.

Dry plane air can evaporate nasal mucus, and cabin pressurization can cause membranes to swell, both of which prevent you from fully detecting those food scents so crucial to taste. So in the air, you're likely not enjoying meals to their fullest potential.

2-Blood oxygen drops, making you sleepy.

It is certainly not the comfy airplane seats that make you sleepy! Lower oxygen levels contribute to your feelings of fatigue.

Plane cabins are pressurized to simulate a 6,000 to 8,000-foot elevation on Earth, and your blood absorbs less oxygen at those altitudes.

As any skier knows, this can cause dizziness, sleepiness and general lack of mental sharpness.

3-Blood pools up in your legs and feet.

When you're sitting for a long period of time, blood collects in your legs and feet.

When it leaves your veins for the surrounding tissue, that mid-flight foot swelling ensues.

In extreme and rare cases, this can escalate into blood clots.

Flex your feet, extend your legs or contract your calf muscles to circulate blood upwards, which will also boost oxygen levels and fight your fatigued feeling.

4-Bodily gas gets stuck, well, everywhere.

As a plane rises and cabin pressure drops, the gas in your intestines expands. Your stomach might feel full or cramped.

Gas fluctuations also affect your ears. During a plane’s descent, the tube that lets air in and out to maintain pressure doesn't react quickly enough, so air cannot pass through and pressurize your ear correctly.

That’s why swallowing, clicking your jaw or yawning may help. It can open the tube, let air flow and allow the ear to return to normal pressure.

5-Your brain can't immediately tell there's been a time change.

Any time you cross two or more time zones on a flight, jet lag might ensue as your brain catches on to the new pattern of daylight and darkness.

Effects are less when you're flying from east to west. The body naturally prefers a circadian cycle (or waking and sleeping schedule) that's of about 25 hours instead of 24.

When you fly from east to west, you're adding hours of daylight to your schedule, bringing your total daylight exposure closer to that 25-hour mark.

6-Your skin loses moisture.

Cabin pressure and dry, recirculated air zap moisture from your skin. Don’t worry, there are plenty of balms, lotions, and potions to bring your complexion back to life.

A flight attendant's number-one rule is drinking water, to keep skin naturally hydrated. And there might be a scientific reason why you always order tomato juice.

The air pumped into a plane cabin is incredibly dry. And naturally, moisture wants to jump from places of high concentration (like your mouth and respiratory tract) to places of low concentration (like the cabin around you).

Exhaling all that moist air results in water loss; hence, you are dehydrated. And hence, you may crave a beverage.

7- And there might be a scientific reason why you always order tomato juice.

Tomato juice, typically very salty on the ground, may taste less intense at higher altitudes, where our taste buds have a hard time detecting salty flavors.

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