We’ve been hearing a lot about this ‘self-care’ idea these days. You may have been told things like ‘self-care is not selfish,’ or ‘you need to take care of yourself first’ (which sounds kinda selfish, though, doesn’t it?) or similar notions.

Today I want to help you make sense of the idea that taking care of yourself first is not only important, but necessary, and that it is not a self-centered obsession. Today – we’re talking about planes.

The average commercial airplane flies at an altitude of around 36,000 feet above sea level. At this level the plane is in the lower stratosphere, thereby avoiding the clouds and storms that could cause issues. The atmosphere is also thinner, giving the planes additional fuel efficiency.

If an airplane were to lose its pressurization (called decompression), it would not take long before everyone without an oxygen source ended up unconscious. Before that happened though, people would begin to feel confused, have blurred vision, and may not have any idea what was happening, or not even care. There is a term called time of useful consciousness which approximates how long you would have before your cognitive and sensory functions were impaired to the point where you could not make life-saving decisions or take necessary actions to sustain your existence. At the average 36,000 ft, assuming you are at rest in your seat, you would have about 20 seconds to get your oxygen mask on before you would be incapable, confused, or out altogether.

This, of course, assuming that the decompression was noticed right away. If the clock started ticking before anyone noticed (it is absolutely possible for a plane to leak pressure without a dramatic door-getting-ripped-off-type scenario), then your 20 seconds would quickly disappear. And this is also assuming that, even if the crew noticed right away and alerted everyone, you’re staying completely calm, breathing normally, and not panicking. Let’s face it, you’re panicking.

You know how they always give that safety spiel at the beginning about putting your oxygen mask on before helping others?

As long as you can get your own mask on, and ideally the oxygen will be flowing of course, you can then tend to others who require your assistance – even if they’ve already dozed off by now.

If you’ve instead started scrambling to get your toddler’s mask on as you lose all sense of reality and control, you are both about to be oxygen deprived and helpless.

All this is to explain, with hard numbers, why it is so important to take care of yourself first. This is not some millennial obsession with bubble baths and meditation – this is survival. And if we aren’t able to keep ourselves afloat and breathing, we will not be able to be there for those we serve.

Side note: I hope this didn’t scare anyone away from flying!

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