When I travel to high altitudes, I have trouble breathing. Whats going on?
If you live in or travel to high altitudes, you are breathing “thin” or “skinny” air. At sea level, oxygen comprises about 21 percent of the air that you breathe. It is important to realize that air pressure decreases as altitude increases. At 12,000 feet (3,658 meters), for example, there are roughly 40 percent fewer oxygen molecules available to you for each breath. To compensate for the reduced oxygen content of the air, people at high altitudes automatically start breathing much faster, even at rest. Breathing thinner air has many potential consequences, and none of them are very good. Symptoms can range from headaches, insomnia, general malaise, anxiety, and loss of appetite, to reduced physical coordination, delusional thinking and emotional states, and even life-threatening medical conditions such as high-altitude pulmonary edema and high-altitude cerebral edema. To be able to handle high altitudes in the most effective way, the key is to breathe in the most efficient and coordi
