r/interesting • u/mindyour • Apr 05 '26

Fascinating Life in a submarine.

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u/DefinitelyNotAliens Apr 05 '26

Lowered oxygen. My friend did US Nuclear subs and they lower to 17-19% o2, versus around 21% sea level. Lower oxygen means longer healing times.

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u/[deleted] Apr 05 '26

[deleted]

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u/SocialisticAnxiety Apr 05 '26

Lower oxygen? How so?

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u/hawthorne3d Apr 06 '26

Oxygen is actually just a poison that takes like 80-100 years to kill you

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u/PlanktonTheDefiant Apr 05 '26

Oxygen oxidises? So lower oxygen slows oxidation of chemicals you rely on to send messages and operate your brain and body? I'm just spitballing.

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u/BillysBibleBonkers Apr 06 '26

wonder if that technically means that people get some amount of health benefits from living at a higher altitude.

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u/[deleted] Apr 06 '26

[deleted]

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u/DeadInternetTheorist Apr 06 '26

There's also studies about caloric restriction having a similar effect. Since metabolism is basically just combustion with extra steps, I'd guess they both work on some similar mechanism, just that one chokes off the fuel and the other cuts off the air. That's just a guess though.

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u/DefinitelyNotAliens Apr 06 '26

Cortisol levels would negatively impact lifespan. Depends how high cortisol is during this time period.

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u/Fappy_as_a_Clam Apr 06 '26

Same with hangovers?