Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here. When we settle into our
Speaker 1: beds at night, we usually experience a pleasant sense of
Speaker 1: unburdening after a long day of walking, sitting and standing,
Speaker 1: letting gravity do the work, and sinking into a soft
Speaker 1: mattress can be a relief. But over two hundred miles
Speaker 1: or three kilometers above the Earth, astronauts live and work
Speaker 1: in microgravity aboard the International Space Station, and going to
Speaker 1: sleep in microgravity presents a much different situation. Cruise on
Speaker 1: the I S S may live in space for hundreds
Speaker 1: of days at a stretch, and the details of each
Speaker 1: day are scheduled beforehand. For example, a typical week day
Speaker 1: for the crew of Expedition eighteen eighteen permanent crew of
Speaker 1: the I S S began with a wake up call
Speaker 1: at six a m u t C E t C
Speaker 1: being the same as GMT, which is used to reduce
Speaker 1: time zone confusion among countries. That was followed by ninety
Speaker 1: minutes of time for eating breakfast and getting ready for
Speaker 1: the day. By seven thirty a m. The crew had
Speaker 1: conference calls with each country's control center and embarked on
Speaker 1: a morning of science experiments, maintenance, and small chores. Following
Speaker 1: an hour for lunch, the crew was back to work
Speaker 1: along with more exercise, with one final planning conference call
Speaker 1: with each control center. The day wrapped up around five
Speaker 1: thirty or six p m, followed by dinner at eight
Speaker 1: p m and bedtime at nine thirty. After all that,
Speaker 1: the least an astronaut could ask for is a good
Speaker 1: night's sleep, but even the idea of night changes when
Speaker 1: you're in space. Orbiters zoom around the Earth multiple times
Speaker 1: a day, and with the effects of microgravity and weightlessness,
Speaker 1: even the quality of sleep in space is different from
Speaker 1: that on Earth. Spacecraft like the ISSS have pressurized cabins
Speaker 1: and are filled with the same kind of air we
Speaker 1: breathe on Earth, and the atmosphere on board is made
Speaker 1: to feel as close to sea level as possible, but
Speaker 1: microgravity causes astronauts to experience the effects of near weightlessness.
Speaker 1: Setting up a traditional earthly bed cot or hammock can't
Speaker 1: be part of the plan because the astronaut and the
Speaker 1: sleeping surface itself would drift off as the astronaut you know,
Speaker 1: drifted off. Most of the crew on the I S
Speaker 1: S choose to sleep in their own cabin or in
Speaker 1: an I S S module. American crew members sleeping quarters
Speaker 1: are soundproof, private cabin for one set ups where an
Speaker 1: astronaut can not only catch some z s, but also
Speaker 1: catch up on email. The catch is that they need
Speaker 1: to tether themselves to something to avoid floating away. Most
Speaker 1: astronauts choose sleeping bags tethered to the floor, the walls,
Speaker 1: or the ceiling, though in the microgravity environment there's no
Speaker 1: such thing as up, which means it's just as easy
Speaker 1: to sleep vertically as you would horizontally back home. It's
Speaker 1: also important to secure your arms and legs to avoid
Speaker 1: them hovering off and hitting other objects as you sleep.
Speaker 1: Adjusting to sleeping in space takes a long time for astronauts.
Speaker 1: Our bodies and brains are used to certain circadian rhythms
Speaker 1: the twenty four hour cycle of waking and sleeping, and
Speaker 1: disturbing them can cause sleep difficulties, which in turn can
Speaker 1: impact your mood, how well you concentrate, and how much
Speaker 1: energy you have, as well as how healthy your body is.
Speaker 1: The chronic sleep deprivation can lead to an increased risk
Speaker 1: of conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension, so to
Speaker 1: avoid any distracting light and heat from the sun, astronauts
Speaker 1: will cover up any windows they may be near. Astronauts
Speaker 1: also often choose to wear sleep masks, the same as
Speaker 1: we might wear on Earth when we want to shut
Speaker 1: out distracting light. There's noise to be contended with. Two.
Speaker 1: Because fans, air filters, and other equipment provides life support
Speaker 1: to the astronauts, the I s S is filled with
Speaker 1: constant whirring noises a continual hum. Astronauts sometimes sleep with
Speaker 1: earplugs too dampen the sound, but after a while, many
Speaker 1: reports they just get used to it. Combine the light
Speaker 1: and the noise with the unnatural feeling of floating motion, sickness,
Speaker 1: aches and pains, relatively poor ventilation and temperature control, as
Speaker 1: well as a new sunrise every ninety minutes, being the
Speaker 1: amount of time it takes for the space station to
Speaker 1: circumnavigate the Earth. Insomnia and sleep deprivation are a common
Speaker 1: and serious problem for humans in space. NASA reports that
Speaker 1: sleeping pills are the second most common drug astronauts take
Speaker 1: after pain killers to help combat astronaut insomnia. NASA also
Speaker 1: budgets at least eight hours of Sleep every Day, promotes
Speaker 1: relaxation techniques, and provides sleep hygiene education. But despite it all,
Speaker 1: astronauts average between thirty to sixty minutes less sleep each
Speaker 1: night than they get at home on Earth. Something like
Speaker 1: nine million earth bound Americans rely on prescriptions sleep inducing
Speaker 1: medication to get a decent night's sleep, and that's not
Speaker 1: even counting those of us who try tease over the
Speaker 1: counter remedies or suffer through it. But it seems that
Speaker 1: this is a common human denominator. Insomnia plag exists in
Speaker 1: space too. Today's episode is based on the article what
Speaker 1: is it Like to Sleep in Space? On how stuff
Speaker 1: Works dot com, written by John Fuller and Maria Treemarchi.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership
Speaker 1: with how stuff Works dot Com, and it's produced by
Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio visit the
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Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.