Oxygen Depletion: Subtle Signs Your Body Might Be Lacking This Vital Element

39. Brittle Nails or Vertical Ridges on Fingernails

Your nails are a window into your overall circulation and nutrient delivery, both of which are intimately tied to oxygenation. Chronically low oxygen levels and the resulting poor peripheral circulation can starve the nail matrix—the tissue where the nail is formed—of the necessary components for healthy growth. This often manifests as brittle nails that chip easily or a prominence of vertical ridges (longitudinal ridging), which reflects uneven growth due to inconsistent delivery of oxygen and nutrients. While not exclusive to oxygen issues, these changes are a slow-developing physical sign that the most distant parts of your body are receiving inadequate support.

40. Increased Sensitivity to High Altitudes

If you experience exaggerated or immediate symptoms like severe headaches, nausea, or extreme fatigue when traveling to even modestly higher elevations (e.g., a mountain resort or a higher-altitude city) that never bothered you before, it can be a sign of a pre-existing oxygenation problem. Your body is already struggling with a subtle oxygen deficit at sea level, leaving it with no buffer to compensate when ambient oxygen drops slightly. This sudden, excessive reaction to high altitude is the environment exposing a quiet weakness in your respiratory or circulatory system's ability to maintain saturation.