Why is it harder to breathe the higher you go up in altitude??

Answer 1

None of which really explains why there is less air as you go higher!

However, air, like all gasses, is compressible. The mass of air above you at sea level forces the molecules closer together; as you rise, there is less confining weight, they can scatter further apart.

Air at sea level has a density of roughly 1.4kg/cubic metre; at the top of Everest it is roughly 30% of that, and effectively nothing by 80km high.

Water, by contrast, compresses very little under pressure; the density of sea water at the bottom of Challenger deep is only a little greater than at surface, despite the crushing 11,000 tones per square metre pressure down there.

Answer 2

At higher altitudes the air becomes thinner and there is less oxygen present in the atmosphere. This is why runners train at higher altitudes, it increases the efficiency in oxygen transfer in the lungs and bloodstream. As the body adjusts, it becomes more adept at functioning in the thinner air. Then when you return to sea level and its higher concentration of oxygen your body has more to process (while still functioning at the higher levels needed for higher altitudes) and is basically over-nourished with oxygen.

Answer 3

Because you are further from the center of the earth the pull of gravity is weaker. Because there is less gravity the atmosphere is thinner and there is less air to breath. This make sit harder to breath until you get acclimated to it (used to it.) You also weigh less at higher altitudes. But not by much.

Answer 4

Less Oxygen the higher you go therefore harder to breathe

Answer 5

The content of oxygen in the atmosphere is thinner at higher altitudes

Answer 6

As you go higher, the air is literally thinner which means the air pressure is lower and that means that instead of air flowing easily into your lungs, you have to inhale harder to get it there. And once you have inhaled that air, there is less oxygen in it. That's why the climbers who attack Everest and Kilimanjaro and other extreme mountain climbs always do so with oxygen tanks. Without them, once you get into that thin air your brain doesn't function as well and you can do goofy (and sometimes lethal) things without realizing what is going on.

Answer 7

As others have said, the air is thinner at altitude.
Think of it like a solution - if you dissolve 5gms of powder in 20 cc of water, you can get all the 5gms in one swallow, but if the same 5 gms is dissolved in 5 litres of water, you must drink a lot more to get the same effect.
The thin air can be got used to, which is why you hear of athletes going to Mexico to train. Their lung function improves to cope with the thinner air, then when they come down to lower, normal levels, their lungs can get more goodness out of the same volume that they were used to.

Answer 8

IT ISNT PHYSICALLY HARDER TO BREATHE, IT IS JUST THAT THE OXYGEN LEVEL AT ALTITUDE IS SO MUCH LOWER THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE BREATHING YOU ARE NOT GETTING AS MUCH OF THE NEEDED OXYGEN
THUS YOU TRY TO BREATH FASTER AND HARDER (MORE VOLUME) TO COMPENSATE

Answer 9

The air is less dense at a high altitide. Because the air is less dense, there is less oxygen in it, therefore, your body has to work harder to get more oxygen.

Answer 10

i find that if the lift is broken and i walk up several flights of stairs i find it more difficult to breath this is because i am unfit so the fitter you are the easier it is to breath at any altitude