# Do people born at high altitude suffer ill effects from a quick trip to sea level? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2011, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-born-at-high-altitude-suffer-ill-effects-from-a-quick-trip-to-sea-level/597443 "2011-09-24T08:28:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-born-at-high-altitude-suffer-ill-effects-from-a-quick-trip-to-sea-level/597443/1 "2011-09-24T08:28:57Z")
Reading [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=60362), I was reminded of something I’ve always wondered about, people used to low altitudes require a fair bit of time to acclimate to higher altitudes, is there a consequence to doing the reverse? If you’re born in Nepal, do you suffer after a plane ride to the nearest coast? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-born-at-high-altitude-suffer-ill-effects-from-a-quick-trip-to-sea-level/597443/2 "2011-09-24T08:47:49Z")
I’ve never heard of such a thing. But I have heard that some athletes spent a lot of time at high altitude because their bodies make some adjustments and they perform better (for a while) when they return to low altitude. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-born-at-high-altitude-suffer-ill-effects-from-a-quick-trip-to-sea-level/597443/3 "2011-09-24T12:18:00Z")
No major cosequences. Someone moving to sea level may have greater stamina, but that wouldn’t be an issue unless their an athlete. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-born-at-high-altitude-suffer-ill-effects-from-a-quick-trip-to-sea-level/597443/4 "2011-09-24T13:39:54Z")
FWIW (and honestly it’s probably not worth much), when I flew from St. Louis (elevation ~600ft) to Denver (elevation ~5000ft), I thought for a few minutes while at the Denver airport that I was going to pass out. About an hour later I was on a flight to Sacramento (elevation ~100ft), and as God is my witness, I felt like the sky was closing in on me those first fifteen or so minutes on the ground in Sacramento. Probably all psychosomatic, but there it is. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-born-at-high-altitude-suffer-ill-effects-from-a-quick-trip-to-sea-level/597443/5 "2011-09-24T13:50:30Z")
The main adaptation to higher altitudes is more red blood cells. Hence the interesting shenanigans that endurance athletes get into. It creates a natural blood doping. The downside seems to be a higher risk of some cardiovascular issues due to the higher blood viscosity (which we may assume is the reason we stick with a thinner blood at lower altitudes.) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-born-at-high-altitude-suffer-ill-effects-from-a-quick-trip-to-sea-level/597443/6 "2011-09-24T14:21:20Z")
Some native Tibetans have reported they can detect a difference at sea level, describing lower altitude air as feeling thick or uncomfortable, but it doesn’t seem to impair their abilities to function. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-born-at-high-altitude-suffer-ill-effects-from-a-quick-trip-to-sea-level/597443/7 "2011-09-24T16:35:46Z")
I’ve experienced both: returning to Munich (elevation ca. 500 m) after 10 months in Colorado (elevation 1 500 m), I did feel more stamina. But when going from Munich to North-Rhine-Westfalia (elevation ca. 40 m), the air does feel thicker, and I get much more tired.