Do you age less on an airplane?

Chou did the math, and it turns out that frequent fliers actually age the tiniest bit more quickly than those of us with both feet on the ground. Planes travel at high enough altitudes that the weak gravitational field speeds up the tick rate of a clock on board more than the high speeds slow it down.



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Scientists have done the math, and it turns out that frequent fliers actually age the tiniest bit more quickly than people with both feet on the ground. But not to worry, the difference is so small, you don't have to worry about extra wrinkles.

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That's because of time-dilation effects. First, time appears to move slower near massive objects because the object's gravitational force bends space-time. The phenomenon is called gravitational time dilation. In a nutshell it just means time moves slower as gravity increases.

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Or do they age more quickly, since they're subject to less gravity? Scientists have done the math, and it turns out that frequent fliers actually age the tiniest bit more quickly than people with both feet on the ground. But not to worry, the difference is so small, you don't have to worry about extra wrinkles.

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Not to mention exposure to radiation, pressure changes, high levels of stress, and sitting for hours at a time. These factors can speed up the aging process for many pilots and research suggests they often die younger than the average population, particularly after retirement.

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Age has nothing to do with whether someone travels or not. If you have the money and the desire and there is nothing that you are obligated to do (like take care of your aging parents or a wife and child), then there is no real reason not to travel.

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Sitting down in a tight seat for 13+ hours can sometimes lead to circulation issues, including swelling in the feet. According to The Healthy, the chance of your body forming blood clots increases when blood isn't moving correctly, such as when onboard a long-haul flight.

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The amount of radiation is minuscule, and jet lag can usually be overcome in a few days. But for anyone flying dozens of times per year — say, at least two cross-country flights per month — these stresses start to add up, putting frequent fliers in higher risk categories for cancers and other chronic health issues.

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According to a review in 2022, combining data from 18 studies, the longer you travel, the greater the risk of blood clots. The authors calculated there was a 26% higher risk for every two hours of air travel, starting after four hours.

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Using those numbers as reference, we can calculate that if an observer at sea level stayed there for 100 years, someone who would have stayed on the Everest would be older by roughly 0.003 seconds. Technically yes, relative to an observer on Earth, a person at higher altitudes will age faster.

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What type of pilot you want to become will determine what age would be too old to change careers and start your flight training journey. If you're looking to fly larger jets for a major airline then I would suggest the cut-off date is around 35 years if you are only just starting your training.

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Pilot. This profession requires a person to sit in front of a huge window in the cockpit where massive amounts of strong UV light is exposed to the skin and eyes. Since UV light is the #1 cause of wrinkles, along with a pilot being closer to the sun, this can cause a lot of damage to the skin.

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There is no upper age limit for flight attendants.

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There is no universal requirement for air hostesses to be single, and in many airlines, married women and those with children can work as air hostesses. However, historically, some airlines have had policies that restricted employment of married women or those with children, but this has changed over the years.

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Bette Nash (December 31, 1935 – Present) Bette Nash is currently the oldest active flight attendant in the world at 84 years of age. Nash's story has been featured all over the internet in recent years as she continues to work and shows no signs of slowing down.

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