Scientists urge holidaygoers to avoid doing this one thing when flying

Scientists have issued a warning against passengers drinking alcohol during long-haul flights as it could have an effect on their bodies when they fall asleep.

Researchers at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at the German Aerospace Center delved into a study with 48 adults between the ages of 18 and 40 over two nights in two different environments: a sleep chamber and an altitude chamber 2438 metres above sea level.

They wanted to explore the effects as passengers frequently drink alcohol during long-haul flights before falling asleep.

Participants of the study consumed alcohol before sleeping on one of the nights.

While it was noted that young, healthy people may not experience any negative side effects, Dr Eva-Maria Elmenhorst found that "the decreased oxygen saturation together with the increase in heart rate could exacerbate pre-existing medical conditions".

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They discovered that alcohol consumption and low oxygen concentration at high altitudes "challenged the cardiovascular system" and low blood oxygen levels. It was also revealed that it could reduce sleep quality.

Dr Elmenhorst told NBC News that they were "surprised" by their findings in that "the effect was so strong”.

"Together these results indicate that, even in young and healthy individuals, the combination of alcohol intake with sleeping under hypobaric conditions poses a considerable strain on the cardiac system and might lead to exacerbation of symptoms in patients with cardiac or pulmonary diseases," the researchers concluded.

"The oxygen saturation dropped to quite low levels during sleep," Dr Elmenhorst added. "This is why I would recommend to avoid drinking alcohol even when someone is healthy."

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