Why is there a danger for leg blood clots from sitting a few hours on an airplane flight, but not lying down 8+ hours while sleeping every day?

Question

They always tell you to stretch and move your legs once a few hours on a flight to prevent blood clots, but why is this not a problem when we sleep daily and our legs are basically immobile for 8 hours?

In: 247

Answer 1

When I had surgery a few years ago they asked me to stop taking fish oil supplements because they thin the blood. Would they help prevent blood clots in this situation?