Monitoring a space slumber

Different factors contribute to a good night’s sleep in space, and NASA is carefully monitoring each of these points

Sleeping periods

The aim is eight hours of sleep each ‘night’, but that’s not normally the case. On average, crew members tend to only get between five and six hours of sleep.

Floating Cabin

Each astronaut has their own cabin. This room is where the individual can enjoy their rest in a vertical sleeping bag on the wall as opposed to a horizontal bed.

Earth-bound implications

Insomnia can affect many people on Earth due to jet lag and working unusual shift patterns, and this can negatively affect their health. NASA hope that their ISS studies can help improve people’s everyday lives.

The Drager Double Sensor

These sensors monitor astronauts’ core temperature and body chemistry, as well as checking for any changes to circadian rhythms, also known as the ‘biological clock’.

Constant sunrises

As the space station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, there is no real sense of night or day. Astronauts can experience 16 sunrises and sunsets a day.

Changing light on the ISS

Lighting conditions can also impact sleep. The ISS has had its fluorescent lights replaced with solid-state LEDS, which can change colour and intensity, in order to improve sleep.

Astronaut’s Actiwatch

Similar to the smartwatches we wear, these ‘fitness trackers’ carefully monitor an astronaut’s activity while awake or asleep to see how their body is performing under microgravity.

Consequences for a Martian mission

When humans reach Mars they will need to adapt to the Martian days, which are almost 40 minutes longer than an Earth day. NASA need to study how our bodies adapt to such a situation.