At this point, it’s not really a question of WHETHER Taylor Swift will attend Super Bowl LVIII.
Based on multiple accounts, Swift will be in attendance in Las Vegas on February 11 when her boyfriend’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, takes on the San Francisco 49ers.
Yes, this will be the case even though Swift will be performing in Tokyo the day before.
Just ask the country of Japan, okay? Due to the time differences between the aforementioned cities, Swift should arrive in plenty of time for kickoff this Sunday.
But SHOULD Taylor Swift take a flight across the ocean as soon as her concert concludes on February 10?
A handful of medical experts might advise against it.
Just to review:
Tokyo is 12 hours ahead of Las Vegas.
Swift’s concert will start around 9 p.m. in Japan.
In theory, she can hop on a plane around noon on February 11 and then go back in time in some magical sense, touching down in Nevada at 8 a.m. on that same date, several hours before the Super Bowl begins.
We’ll assume Swift takes a private plane for this 13-hour adventure, but Dr. Matthew Goldman of the Cleveland Clinic tells The Daily Mail that dehydration is at least one consequence of such a trip.
“The pressure, temperature, and oxygen levels in the cabin fluctuate, and the humidity level is lower than it is at sea level,” he once wrote in a blog post.
At higher altitudes the air is nearly devoid of moisture, too, which could lead to a sore throat, dry nose and itchy skin.
Due to the change of time zones and the affiliated changes in light coming through he cabin, Swift can also expect a disruption in her circadian rhythm, as well as the suppression melatonin, a hormone that controls how tired someone feels.
The varying levels of light on the jet means the singer’s production of melatonin could be thrown out of whack and lead her to miss out on sleep… even if she’s exhausted.
It could also lead to the elevated release of the stress hormone cortisol, which naturally rises in the day and drops in the evening.
What does all this mean?
Dr. Russell Foster, a neuroscientist in the United Kingdom, previously explained to the Daily Mail how our brain capacity at 4 a.m. is “akin to that of being legally drunk.”
Swift may have slowed reaction time or slurred speech as a result of her body simply being off.
Potentially the more severe repercussion of this kind of flight?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), traveling for more than four hours can lead to an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
A blood clot in the legs from sitting for an extended period of time, DVT can cause swelling of the leg or arm, pain or tenderness, skin that is warm to the touch and skin redness.
Left untreated, DVT can even lead to a pulmonary embolism, a potentially fatal complication that occurs when a blood clot breaks free and get stuck in a blood vessel in the lung.
Yikes, huh?
Finally, mere changes in cabin pressure can also lead to gastrointestinal discomfort, prompting an excess of farting, burping and/or diarrhea.
In general, Swift will experience jet lag. She won’t get much rest. She may be moody and simply feel like crap.
Various symptoms of a sleepless night include irritability, increased stress, impaired concentration and food cravings.
But whatever, right?
This is the Super Bowl. This is true love. Travis Kelce is talking about a ring.
Even when faced with the above possibilities, does anyone doubt that Taylor Swift — on the biggest sports and entertainment stage of them all — will be able to shake it all off?