As some will say, sleep is a nature call. Sleep experts say you cannot cheat on the amount of sleep you get. When you don’t get adequate sleep, you accumulate a sleep debt that can be difficult to “pay back” if it becomes too big. In as much as sleep is important as diet and exercise, it is not important during take-off and landing.
Maybe because of the nature of your work or the kind of activities you engaged did not allow you to sleep and you have already made up your mind to sleep aboard. Health experts say it is not good and I can lead to serious health challenges.
The air pressure in the plane’s cabin changes with height and if your body is not prepared to adapt to this new change due to sleep, it can lead to wreak mayhem on your eardrums because you cannot pop your ears when sleeping.
As British pharmacist, Angela Chalmers explained to Express: “A quick change in altitude affects the air pressure in the ear. This leads to a vacuum in the Eustachian tubes which makes the ears feel blocked and sound dull.”
“Try not to sleep during take-off and descent as you will not be swallowing as frequently and this can lead to blocked ears,” she said.
According to MedlinePlus, a health information site by the US National Library of Medicine, if your ears stay blocked, it can create a number of health issues — such as dizziness, ear infections, eardrum damage, and at worst, nosebleeds and hearing loss.
Staying awake during take-off and landing to pop your ears helps to “equalize” the air pressure on your eardrums.
“Swallowing or yawning opens the Eustachian tube and allows air to flow into or out of the middle ear. This helps equalise pressure on either side of the eardrum,” MedlinePlus states. “If the Eustachian tube is blocked, the air pressure in the middle ear is different than the pressure on the outside of the eardrum.”
Taking nap before your flight, avoiding alcohol, giving your eyes a break, starting a conversation, chewing gum etc are some of the things you can do to prevent sleeping during taking-off and landing.
Have you ever suffered from severe ear pain from a flight?
