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Showing posts with the label high altitudes

HOW ALTITUDE AFFECTS YOUR HEALTH, LONGEVITY AND AGING

             Most of the problems are caused by lack of oxygen. Because the atmospheric pressure is lower the higher you go, at 2,000 meters above sea level, a given volume of air contains some 20 percent less oxygen, and at 4,000 meters, air contains 40 percent less oxygen. Lack of oxygen affects most of your bodily functions. Your muscles can do less work, your nervous system can take less stress, and your digestive system cannot handle fat as well. Normally when your body needs more oxygen, you automatically breathe more heavily and fill the need. Then why doesn’t this happen when you arrive at a high altitude? Just how your body controls your rate of breathing is a wonder that is not completely understood. But when you exert yourself, heavy breathing is not triggered simply by lack of oxygen. Rather, the carbon dioxide buildup in the blood produced by the muscle activity seems to be a key factor in making you breathe more. You do breathe more heavily

HOW SETTLING IN THE HIGH ALTITUDE AND CAN MAKE YOU LIVE LONGER

                             There is no need to fear living at high altitudes. In fact, some highland areas such as the Caucasus Mountains are famous for the number of natives who have lived unusually long life. And some people have endured extremely high altitudes for years.   Lived and worked for 13 years at a mine 6,000 meters [19,500 feet] high, near the top of a volcano. Breaking up blocks of sulfur with a sledgehammer was hard work.   Yet, at day’s end, we used to play soccer! The human body is endowed with such remarkable abilities to adapt to new conditions that we marvel at the creator wisdom. How does your body cope with the lack of oxygen at high altitudes? Your body’s first reaction on exposure to high altitude is to make your heart and lungs work faster. Then you shed plasma from your blood, thus concentrating the oxygen-carrying red cells. In a short time, extra blood is being diverted to your brain, where it is most needed. And within only a fe