On a Plane Your Digestive System Expands While Your Digestion Slows Down
Dry air, cramped seats, and falling pressure slow the gut as the digestive system expands.
HEALTH TALK AMERICA · Ask the Pill, the Pancreas, and the Panel: Your Questions, AnsweredStepping off a long flight with a tight, swollen belly is a familiar misery. Jane Jansen, who works in holistic health, has a name for it: jet belly, a mix of bloating, constipation, acid reflux, nausea, and, for some travelers, loose stools.
Jansen says that as the plane ascends and cabin pressure decreases, the digestive system expands. She describes the sensation as “just feeling like a big water balloon.”
At the same time, the digestive system that should move things along slows down. At high altitude, she says, the muscles of the gut do not contract as well. Dry cabin air dehydrates passengers, which can contribute to slow motility, and sitting confined in a seat for hours slows that motion further.
Stress adds another drag. Most people are not calm on flights, Jansen says, and higher stress can raise inflammatory response and disrupt the mix of microbes in the digestive tract. Changes in diet combine with that irritation.
The result can go in opposite directions. Jansen says some people lean more toward loose stools and others toward constipation. Acid reflux can also be very problematic, even after arrival.
Questions people ask
Why does lower cabin pressure make bloating worse?
Jansen says that as the plane ascends and cabin pressure decreases, the digestive system expands. That produces a bloaty, balloon-like feeling.
How do dry air and sitting still slow digestion?
Jansen links dry cabin air to dehydration, which can contribute to slow motility in the digestive tract. She also points to confined movement and to high altitude, where she says the digestive muscles do not contract as well.
Why do some travelers get constipated while others get diarrhea?
Jansen says it is different from person to person. Some people lean more toward loose stools. Others lean more toward constipation, and acid reflux can also be problematic.