Altitude Sickness as a Musician
Summer is officially here, which means... I am in Colorado for Lake Dillon's summer rep season!
I've been stoked about this gig since February, when I first interviewed for it! Colorado? Trumpet contract? And I get to also utilize my keyboard and acting/singing skills? Sign me up!
Well... it snuck up on me quickly enough. I couldn't believe it was finally time to be here. After visiting the talented Kyle Lahr (check him out @kylewellsbass on Facebook) in New Hampshire, it was time to pack up and head west! So, last week I flew from Boston to Chicago, visited family for a few days, and then flew from Cedar Rapids to Chicago to Denver.
TALK ABOUT JET LAGGED.
And on top of jet lagged... let's discuss a little phrase called: Altitude Sickness.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Unfortunately.
(Incidentally: If you haven't seen Get Out, go see it. Right now.)
To put this into perspective:
I came from Portsmouth, New Hampshire at an elevation of 20 feet above sea level.
Illinois (an hour north of Rockford, to be exact) is 1,235 feet.
When I landed in Denver, the airport is listed at 5,322 feet.
Dillon, Colorado is 9,017 feet.
I basically gained 9,000 feet of elevation in one week.
How does this affect the human body? Well, for starters, anywhere above 8,000 feet sea level, the air thins out. Technically, the percentage of oxygen at higher altitude is the same as at lower altitudes - but the atmospheric pressure is less, which makes the air thinner, and the molecules are more dispersed than at lower altitudes - hence, "less" oxygen is available to intake with every breath. This means your body is not receiving as much oxygen in order to work as easily at a lower altitude. Normal things like walking even become arduous tasks. The body performs 50% less physically efficient above 8,000 feet, until one becomes acclimated.
Technically, there is no cure for altitude sickness - one can only stabilize oneself as best as possible until one acclimates to the altitude. What does stabilization or acclimation involve?
Let's start at the beginning.
Symptoms of altitude sickness typically include headaches, fatigue, dizziness, trouble sleeping, and feeling sluggish. I absolutely had all of these symptoms at various points. To prevent worsened symptoms, it is seriously advised to steer clear of caffeine and alcohol, while the best suggestions to intake are water and carbohydrates. I looked this up... and water is an obvious answer to most things, as we know. And at this altitude, the air is much dryer than closer to sea level, so we become dehydrated very quickly as oxygen leaves our bodies through our lungs and skin - which is sneaky, because you may not always feel thirsty.
Carbohydrates help because when our body has less oxygen, our energy storage becomes depleted quicker, and carbs fill back up that energy storage. Not to mention, it takes less oxygen for the body to metabolize carbs - which is good, because we need to save all the oxygen we can up here for our brain, heart and lungs. One study specifically says: "Carbohydrate is the preferred energy source at altitude. Carbohydrates replace depleted muscle glycogen stores, prevent protein from being used as energy, and require less oxygen for metabolism. A high-carbohydrate diet can reduce the onset and severity of AMS and improve physical performance and mental efficiency. A low-carbohydrate diet can result in low blood sugar. Low blood sugar causes confusion, disorientation, and lack of coordination; these conditions can be extremely dangerous when combined with oxygen deficiency." So, when I ate an avocado sandwich and Dr. Pepper from Which Wich on Saturday, that explains why the world turned sideways and I almost fell over while crossing the street afterward. (Science is awesome.)
As a normal human, altitude sickness can be rough for 1-3 days, until symptoms begin to subside. Some folks take shorter or longer to acclimate, and technically we don't become fully acclimated until three weeks is up - but the symptoms subside greatly within the first few days.
How does altitude sickness affect musicians? Well, let me tell you!
As a wind player, I greatly rely on oxygen for a good performance - if you didn't know. When there is a less oxygen, it becomes difficult to play and endurance can be thrown out the window. Luckily, my wonderful and thoughtful music director, Cameron, is very aware of the situation myself and the reed player are in. We are drinking two to three times the amount of water we normally would, and we are snacking on small carb-heavy meals throughout the day (who can complain about that?!) - the upside to this is that when practicing, I can work on my long tones (which, at any altitude, helps my lips gain strength for my higher range) and the double perk to this is that longer breathing is great for acclimating. Studies suggest yogic breathing practices to expand your lungs to gain as much oxygen as you physically can. But... who would have thought, being a wind player, that you would ever run into the technical issue of altitude adjusting, of all things?! Kind of funny, if you ask me. One problem I never envisioned having to confront.
To steer back toward the topic of what to eat at higher altitudes... as I so excitedly mentioned carbohydrates - you are also told to stay away from protein and fat, as it takes more oxygen to metabolize those. The diet or foods specifically instructed to ingest by multiple sources (that don't use as much energy to digest, and are better for storing energy long-term) are: whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes. How perfect that I AM A VEGAN. (And incidentally, half of the musicians are vegans! Four out of the eight of us! And three of us are conveniently roommates.) Bragging aside, fruits and veggies are hydrating, and dark leafy greens and legumes are ideal for iron absorption. Iron is crucial up here, because in order for your body to receive more oxygen, you need iron to bind with the oxygen molecule, to produce more hemoglobin (the protein molecule in red blood cells) that can then bind with up to four oxygen molecules - and thus, you end up with a higher red blood cell count at a higher altitude and bingo, it gets easier to breathe. Another interesting fact... when you descend to a lower altitude, your body still carries these red blood cells for up to three days, and until your body rids itself of them (through urine) it is proven that you perform more easily than you had been at higher altitudes because you are still high on all the oxygen your body is carrying around. Some effects have been documented to last up to 15 days after descent to lower altitudes.
WHOA. Food science.
As you can see... I am geeking out over the science mash-up with my musician experience at a higher altitude. I just find it so incredibly cool and fascinating. Even if it had me feeling miserable for three days, initially. Who can be grumpy when you get to eat carbs for every meal?
Regarding the theatre work itself here at Lake Dillon, I am so thrilled to be part of a friendly and professional company for the next two months. The new theatre venue is impressive, and the set-up for how I am involved is just as fascinating as the altitude acclimation info!
We are more realistically studio musicians, as opposed to the classic version of a pit orchestra. We are located down the hall from the black box, and in what Cameron calls "the fishbowl", because there are windows lining the room where folks can watch us rehearse. (It reminds me of going to those science museums and seeing scientists work in labs, or those lab techs at the National Zoo who monitor the animals from a video control room.) We each have a personal mixer to play with below our stands and excellent in-ear Westone headphones (a gift from the theatre - whaaaa?). We are also encouraged and invited to attend talk-backs after every show, because there are almost always questions about the music and how it works that we are so remote from the theatre during performances. I can't express enough how much I love that the musicians are well-respected and included in this establishment.
This job reminds me of when I was in high school, and we took a trip to Disney World... We saw studio musicians who played the score live with the Disney movies playing in the background. I knew back then that was a sickkkkk job to have... and now I feel like I am working in an environment along those lines.
It feels pretty neat to please my high school band nerd self like that.
If you stuck with me and read the whole entry, bravo. Thanks for bearing with my nerdy excitement about moving to the mountains for the summer, and how it's affecting me! I will happily post more on Lake Dillon later, especially since our GRAND OPENING for the new venue is this weekend!... but for now, I am going to enjoy the fact that I can handle caffeine again without feeling dizzy, and I may even celebrate my first happy hour with my band-mates after our company photo this afternoon.
Cheers to you all, from the Rockies!
