What Happens to Your Body at High Altitudes?

Let’s talk about what happens to your body at high altitudes.

Travelling in the Himalayas implies that you will be at high altitudes and it’s important for you to know about the effects of high altitudes on the human body. 

Have you noticed that we have used the word travelling & not trekking? Because your body reacts to the high altitude (more than 8,000 ft.), no matter if you trek in the Himalayas or bike ride in Khardung La. I want you to note that high-altitude effects are not just implied for trekking. This article is a mandatory reading for anyone planning their trip or trek in the high altitude. 

Attention: You should read twice if you plan to climb any of the 15-16,000-ers like Rupin Pass, Buran Ghati, Pin Bhaba Pass, Bali Pass, Kedartal Trek, Khopra Ridge and Everest Base Camp via Gokyo Ri.

First, let’s talk about what happens to the air at high altitude

You must know that anything above 8,000 ft from sea level is a high altitude.

At this high altitude, the air pressure drops and there’s less oxygen available in the air.

Let me explain.

At a lower altitude, say, at sea level, there’s a certain amount of pressure in the air. At this pressure, air particles are pressed together, making the oxygen content in the air more concentrated. So one deep breath of air at sea level will give you a lot of oxygen.

However, as you climb higher, this pressure decreases. Air particles get scattered about. Consequently, even the oxygen in the air gets scattered. So the same deep breath of air at high altitude gives you lesser oxygen content.

This is what people often call “thin air” or “rarified air”.

It’s not less oxygen. It’s just a lesser concentration of oxygen because of the lower pressure.

To give you an idea, the air pressure at sea level is 101.3 kPa (kilopascal). However, as you climb to around 16,000 ft (the altitude of Pin Bhaba Pass), the pressure drops dramatically to 54.8 kPa. Higher up, at around 29,028 ft (the altitude of Everest), it further drops to 30.8 kPa.

That’s less than one-third of the air pressure at sea level!

That’s why you cannot suddenly climb from sea level to 29,500 ft in a day.  That would be like stepping out of an aeroplane in mid-air. (Most commercial planes fly at this altitude.) Your body will not cope with it.

It takes days for your body to adjust at high altitudes – which is why most of our high-altitude treks are around 8 days long with rest days in between.

This action of “coping up” by your body is called acclimatisation.

What happens to your body at high altitudes?

Well, your body is used to a certain amount of oxygen at sea level.

When it suddenly gets lesser oxygen, it naturally tries to compensate by trying to take in more oxygen.

So your breathing becomes faster.

Next, your body recognises that there is less oxygen in your blood — so it compensates by increasing the quantity of oxygenated blood.

This means your heart starts pumping faster. Your pulse rate increases.

Third, your bone marrow, which is responsible for managing your blood count, starts producing more red blood cells. Red blood cells are the vehicles that carry around blood in your body.

But having too many red blood cells is not good for you. They can cause a sort of traffic jam in your body.

Think of the consistency of ketchup. That’s how your blood could become. It could also clot. Especially during times of inactivity.

Simply put, your blood becomes thicker.

Now, since both, your lungs and heart, are working harder than usual, your body tries getting rid of any excess baggage that it might be housing. It does this by getting rid of excess fluids — what it perceives as useless body weight.

This makes you urinate more often.

The scientific term for this is diuresis. A book I was reading by Stephen Bezruchka on this subject said you can lose nearly 2% of your body weight in water!

So at high altitudes, it’s normal to wake up at night to pee. If you’ve gone on a trek, it would explain all those midnight nature calls.

Another thing that may happen to your body is that you sleep less.

Often, your body forgets to breathe deep in your sleep. And your brain suddenly wakes you up to remind you to breathe! So if you don’t sleep too well at high altitudes, it’s normal. Remember, it’s just the changes going through the body at high altitudes and a way for your body to acclimatise.

What do you need to know about these changes in your body?

The thing you need to know about all these changes in your body is that your body goes through these changes even while you’re resting.

This has nothing to do with trekking or mountaineering or any exercise.

Even if you’re simply lying down at a high altitude, your body is spending a lot of energy, because it’s in overdrive.

Note that everything I have mentioned till now is about your body’s natural reaction to altitude gain. They aren’t abnormal changes. They are not “symptoms” of anything.

Most of our bodies go through these changes and adjust well to altitude. But sometimes, our body might respond more slowly, or may not respond at all.

That’s when we get altitude sickness, otherwise known as High Altitude Sickness.

If we understand the science behind it, it is not difficult to treat altitude sickness.

The biggest problem trekkers face is a lack of knowledge. Which is why I am writing this article.

Conclusion

I want you to start learning these things if you’re a high-altitude trekker. If you already know these things, share your knowledge with others. The more you learn, the less dependent your life will be on others. For all you know, you could save someone else’s life!

In other articles, I have talked about how to prevent and treat altitude sickness. Make sure you bookmark them:

• What is Acute Mountain Sickness? Understanding AMS, HAPE and HACE
• How To Treat Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE)
• How To Prevent Altitude Sickness (AMS), HAPE and HACE

I hope you found this article helpful. Don’t hesitate to ask me if you have any questions. Also, if you think I’ve missed something feel free to mention it in the comments section below.