What is the normal atmospheric pressure

The atmosphere is a dynamic shell, in which constantly changing - both seasonal and daily. A person who lives for a long time in one locality, as a rule, does not feel these changes, as the body is able to adjust to them in time. Therefore, changes in the weather, except for extreme, almost do not affect the health of a healthy population.

But there is a category of meteosensitive people, on which atmospheric pressure has a very tangible impact. Those who suffer from chronic diseases, especially those associated with the nervous and cardiovascular system, also suffer severe weather changes. Both categories do not feel only the pressure characteristic of this region, and this is not necessarily normal atmospheric pressure. The latter, by the way, is not so often found in nature. It is believed that this is the force with which the column of the atmosphere presses on a unit of area at a latitude of 45 degrees and a height of 0 meters (sea level). For normal atmospheric pressure take 760 mm of mercury.

With altitude, this value decreases, and there is a special barometric formula that makes it possible to calculate the pressure for any point, knowing its height. For example, for Moscow, with an average height of 156 meters, the value is 746 mm. This is the norm for a given area, but not at all normal atmospheric pressure - these concepts need to be distinguished.

Staying in conditions of increased pressure, you can not notice any changes, because it differs little from the usual. Only with an excessively high value, changes begin to appear: breathing becomes rare, but deeper, the sense of smell becomes less blunted, the hearing is deafened and the voice is muffled, dryness of mucous membranes and easy numbness of the skin are manifested. But all these signs are relatively easy to transfer.

The more unfavorable are periods of sudden changes in pressure - compression (increase) and especially decompression (decrease to normal). As the pressure rises, the amount of gases dissolved in the blood increases, and with a rapid transition back to a lower value, the excess of these gases (predominantly nitrogen) accumulates in the blood. Bubbles of gas clog the blood vessels, causing many diseases. Therefore, the more slowly these changes occur, the better the human organism adapts to them.

The effect of atmospheric pressure was felt by everyone who overcame a perceptible difference in altitude. In the mountains after the mark of 2500 meters, the unacclimatized person feels a weakness due to oxygen starvation. The breathing becomes more frequent and deepens, the heart contractions become more frequent, the blood pressure decreases . All this is the influence of height, and, as a consequence, the reduced pressure causing such a painful condition as hypoxia or mountain sickness. With this phenomenon, you can cope by going through acclimatization and accustoming the body to new conditions. It is noteworthy that mountain people do not feel unwell, living their entire lives at altitudes of 2000 meters or more - for them, low blood pressure is the norm.

But it is not necessary to go to the mountains or get into extreme conditions. Differential pressure can be quite painful in your hometown, especially for people with poor health. To this you need to be ready. When predicting a significant deterioration in the weather, it is desirable to reduce physical activity, not to panic and try to ensure peace. If adaptation is usually difficult, it is better to take the remedy recommended by the doctor.

Also, we should not forget that normal atmospheric pressure is not at all a climatic norm in any area. For each region, depending on the height, the characteristic pressure will be different.