Litza Braun
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In today’s day and age, about 8 million people use planes on any given day. More than 3 billion people use jets to travel, but we often forget the real protagonists in these stories—the commercial pilots. People always ask, how was your flight? Typical answers would be “it was fine”, “service was good”, or “I slept through the whole thing”.
How often have you heard someone say, “the pilot brought us safely,” or “we had outstanding pilots”? That’s right, rarely, if not ever. It is only during crazy, life-threatening occasions that commercial pilots ever really make an impact in someone’s life. Just look at Sully and all the media that followed after his heroic landing in the Hudson. So I have decided to dedicate some time to our pilots and their health, both men and women who get us from one place to another safely. My father is a pilot, and my grandfather was also a pilot, which makes this topic a personal interest for me as well.
He mentioned that many pilots have many health issues. I suspected pilots would suffer illnesses related to long working hours, lack of sleep, long periods of sitting down, and chronic stress.
These would include depression, anxiety, heart disease, deep venous thrombosis (DVTs), obesity, and obesity-related diseases. What I found was quite impressive. ✓ When I first started my research, I thought there would be an innumerable amount of information to find on pilots specifically. Surprisingly, there wasn’t as much as I had initially expected. From what I did find, three things jumped out at me, some expected, others not so much.
I have heard so many things about why one of these is better than the others, why you should cook with some but not all, why cooking with one is bad, etc. The advice is endless, so instead of being another person to give you information on this, I’d rather lay out what you should know about each of these delicious oils, and then you can decide for yourself which to use.
Depression and Anxiety A study reported that pilots who spend long hours working per week were twice as likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety. Any job that requires long hours and little rest will cause severe fatigue. This is an important topic, but depression and anxiety are far too big for me to discuss in just this one post. From my sleep deprivation post, you will notice that depression can be a side effect of lack of sleep, so I won’t delve into this topic here, but feel free to request it, and I will in a separate post.
If you are a pilot and are experiencing: ✓
Please schedule an appointment with your doctor and speak to them. I am not saying you are suffering from depression, just that there is a chance you might be, and it’s best to talk to a doctor about it. A doctor can decide your next step after a thorough evaluation. Malignant Melanoma
A study found that there are high rates of malignant melanoma of the skin among commercial pilots. There was what’s called a dose-response, such that those exposed to longer hours of radiation showed higher rates of melanoma.
Any time there is an odd spot with a weird shape and different colors that makes you a bit worried or curious or uneasy. make an appointment with a doctor (dermatologist) and make sure it’s nothing more than just a spot.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
What surprised me most was the risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). In fact, in a study of 328 pilots, almost 30% of them were at risk for OSA and needed further assessments. This kind of study was not too big, so generalising to “all pilots everywhere” cannot be done, but it was high enough for me to write about this.
It’s inadequate sleep characterised by moments of total pause in respiration caused by obstructed airways. This causes the person to wake up briefly, allowing them to resume breathing and fall back asleep. It leads to a loss of much-needed sleep, both quality and quantity—people with OSA often complain of daytime sleepiness or feeling very tired of waking.
The good thing is that in January 2014, The Guide to Aviation Medical Examiners reported that pilots deemed at high risk of OSA would be screened. So as you can see, specific jobs can increase your risk of certain diseases. This includes the type of situation and how the job is done. Whether you are standing for long hours or sitting endlessly. Whether or not your sleep cycle is disrupted. All in all, it is important to always go to your annual check-up. Talk about what has been bothering you. Many times the simple complaints of “I always feel tired no matter how many hours I sleep” are very important. So don’t feel like your complaints aren’t severe enough to warrant a visit to your doc. ✓
Recognising a change is the first important step. The next is telling a doctor about it.
The last thing: these conditions are not only for commercial pilots. So if anyone reads this and feels as though what they’ve read sounds a bit too familiar, make an appointment with your doctor. It’s time to get yourself checked out. ✓
On that note, I hope the next time you’re on a plane, you remember the value of the pilot. You will remember to thank them on your way out.
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