Plenty of circumstances could make a flight feel like an opportune time to toss back a drink. Maybe you’re eager to get into the vacay spirit…or savor those last few hours of PTO. Or you just need something to take the edge off the stressful or unsettling experience that is air travel.
But no matter why you might reach for alcohol mid-flight, drinking on a plane can have some unintended effects. When the buzz wears off, you could be left feeling even crappier than if you’d been sipping on solid ground. And it’s not just the impact of mixing a hangover with the annoyances of navigating an airport. Read on to learn why experts say drinking on a plane can spark symptoms beyond feeling tipsy, and make the comedown that much worse.
Being on a plane can cause dehydration—and alcohol can exacerbate that.
Among its many effects, alcohol acts as a diuretic, meaning it tells your kidneys to flush out more fluids than usual, leading you to pee more often, Sanjay Kurani, MD, medical director of inpatient medicine at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, tells SELF. That isn’t just inconvenient in the setting of a plane; it can put you on a path to dehydration, which can bring on fatigue, headache, and a general feeling of crumminess.
And a plane isn’t exactly the most hydrating environment to begin with. The humidity level is lower within a plane cabin than it is in most homes, meaning that the air is literally drier. So your skin may feel more dried-out than usual—even before you start drinking, Joshua Zeichner, MD, a New York City–based board-certified dermatologist and director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center, tells SELF.
The moisture-loving parts of your body will especially bear the burden. You could wind up with a parched mouth, chapped lips, and dry eyes, too, Omid Mehdizadeh, MD, an otolaryngology and head and neck (ENT) surgeon at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, Calif., tells SELF.
Flying can also affect how your body is able to process alcohol.
The air pressure in the cabins of commercial planes is relatively low, comparable to that of an altitude of roughly 2,000 meters above sea level. This reduced pressure can slightly lessen the amount of oxygen that gets into your blood and makes its way to your brain, Carol Thelen, CRNP, a family nurse practitioner at Johnson Health Center in Lynchburg, Virginia, tells SELF, which can make some people feel a bit lightheaded.
