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PubMed Central
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC5975626
On-orbit sleep problems of astronauts and countermeasures - PMC
A total of 852 sleep logs were collected, 96 reports had mentioned using sleep promoting drugs, and 18 reports had mentioned using sleeping pills twice [7]. Further statistical analysis showed that sleeping problems, space motion sickness, and pain remained the top 3 complaints among astronauts.
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NASA
nasa.gov › directorates › esdmd › hhp › risk-of-performance-decrements-and-adverse-health-outcomes-resulting-from-sleep-loss-circadian-desynchronization-and-work-overload
Risk of Performance Decrements and Adverse Health Outcomes Resulting from Sleep Loss, Circadian Desynchronization, and Work Overload - NASA
September 16, 2025 - Evidence from short and long-duration missions and other relevant environments suggests that environmental factors (e.g., noise, temperature, vibration, and light) inhibit sleep and impact well-being in space.

sleep in an unusual place

Sleep in space - Wikipedia
STS-39 in Earth orbit
Sleeping in space is part of space medicine and mission planning, with impacts on the health, capabilities and morale of astronauts. Human spaceflight often requires astronaut crews to endure long periods without … Wikipedia
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Sleep_in_space
Sleep in space - Wikipedia
September 21, 2025 - Fatigue due to sleep loss, sleep shifting and work overload could cause performance errors that put space flight participants at risk of compromising mission objectives as well as the health and safety of those on board. Sleeping in space requires that astronauts sleep in a crew cabin, a small ...
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The Conversation
theconversation.com › getting-to-sleep-in-space-is-hard-and-not-exactly-restful-for-the-mind-and-body-61445
Getting to sleep in space is hard – and not exactly restful for the mind and body
February 3, 2025 - Light is the main synchronising cue for our internal body clock, and light also suppresses the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin. So exposure to – or absence of – light at inappropriate times disrupts our bodies’ circadian rhythms and ...
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CNN
cnn.com › 2023 › 05 › 12 › health › sleeping-in-space-challenges-scn › index.html
Sleeping will be one of the challenges for astronauts on Mars missions | CNN
May 12, 2023 - Astronauts have dark, quiet and private crew quarters on the space station conducive to good sleep — but that won’t always be the case on other space missions, said Dr. Erin Flynn-Evans, director of the Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. Like their historic Apollo predecessors, the Orion capsules that will be used during future Artemis missions to the moon are small vehicles with limited space for crews and sleeping bags for rest periods.
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The Planetary Society
planetary.org › homepage › planetary radio › the science of sleep in space
The science of sleep in space | The Planetary Society
July 30, 2025 - So you may have differences in preference for temperature level during sleep, and the astronauts get creative in the way they solve those problems. When it comes to airflow, there are little knobs that can be turned to increase or decrease the airflow, but of course on the space station, we ...
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ScienceDirect
sciencedirect.com › science › article › pii › S2590142723000204
Sleep disruption, use of sleep-promoting medication and circadian desynchronization in spaceflight crewmembers: Evidence in low-Earth orbit and concerns for future deep-space exploration missions - ScienceDirect
July 7, 2023 - Evidence consistently indicates a loss of sleep and circadian rhythm disruption during low-Earth orbit missions. Sleep duration is shortened especially the night before a critical operation and during circadian-misaligned sleep episodes.
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Canadian Space Agency
asc-csa.gc.ca › eng › astronauts › living-in-space › sleeping-in-space.asp
Sleeping in space | Canadian Space Agency
This time zone represents a compromise ... long-duration stays in space, some astronauts have reported the sensation of floating over their mattress for a few days after their return to Earth....
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PubMed Central
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC4188436
Prevalence of Sleep Deficiency and Hypnotic Use Among Astronauts Before, During and After Spaceflight: An Observational Study - PMC
After landing on the moon in 1969, Astronaut Neil Armstrong was reportedly unable to sleep all night and Astronaut Buzz Aldrin managed only “a couple of hours of fitful drowsing” during their 21.6 hours on the moon, reportedly because they could not escape from light and noise in the small ...
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American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
atsjournals.org › doi › full › 10.1164 › ajrccm.164.3.2105072a
Sleep in Space Flight | Breath Easy—Sleep Less? | American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Both the ability to sleep and the quality of sleep appear to be reduced in space flight, making hypnotic use in space relatively common—45% of all medications taken by 219 astronauts on 79 shuttle missions were hypnotics for sleep disturbances, and they were used throughout the mission (4). Although current hypnotics are relatively safe and effective for sleep initiation, they cannot solve the more ubiquitous problem of reduced sleep duration in space flight.
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Sleep Cycle
sleepcycle.com › sleep-science › sleeping-in-space
Sleeping in space
With continuous lack of sleep, language, memory, and even sense of time start to be severely affected. In contrast, as little as seventeen hours of continued wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance comparable to an alcohol level of 0.05%. In addition, Sleep science shows that sleep-deprived humans also have trouble responding to rapidly changing situations and making rational judgments.
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Military Medical Research
mmrjournal.biomedcentral.com › articles › 10.1186 › s40779-018-0165-6
On-orbit sleep problems of astronauts and countermeasures | Military Medical Research | Full Text
May 30, 2018 - A total of 852 sleep logs were collected, 96 reports had mentioned using sleep promoting drugs, and 18 reports had mentioned using sleeping pills twice [7]. Further statistical analysis showed that sleeping problems, space motion sickness, and pain ...
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HowStuffWorks
science.howstuffworks.com › space › spaceflight
What is it like to sleep in space? | HowStuffWorks
September 5, 2024 - Combine the light and the noise ... time it takes the space station to circumnavigate the Earth) insomnia and sleep deprivation are a common and serious problem ......
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Space.com
space.com › space exploration › human spaceflight
Sleeping in Space: How Astronauts Get a Good Night's Rest | Space
June 11, 2021 - For people living on the International ... important: disruptions can lead to fatigue and mood changes as well as metabolic disorders, heart disease and gastrointestinal problems — not to mention accidents on the ...
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NASA
nasa.gov › humans-in-space › science-in-space-week-of-sept-15-2023-sleep-on-station
Science in Space: Week of Sept. 15, 2023 - Sleep on Station - NASA
September 27, 2023 - Sleep is related to health, well-being, and cognitive performance. Poor sleep quality can have immediate negative consequences, including problems with attention, concentration, learning, memory, problem-solving, decision-making, and judgment.
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Sleep.com
sleep.com › sleep-tech › how-do-astronauts-sleep
What It’s Really Like to Sleep in Space, According to Astronauts
November 16, 2021 - While the International Space Station ... about 72 degrees (warmer than the best temperature for sleep), leading to frequent sleep disturbances....
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Military Medical Research
mmrjournal.biomedcentral.com › articles › 10.1186 › s40779-018-0185-2
Commentary regarding “on-orbit sleep problems of astronauts and countermeasures” | Military Medical Research | Full Text
October 30, 2018 - In this light, disrupted Circadian rhythm or visually induced arousal frequency due to flashes of light generated by possible interaction between cosmic ray particles and the eye can be among the potential causes of sleep problems in astronauts. The quantification of the light flash was addressed by Fuglesang et al. [8]. These researchers indicate that about 50% of the astronauts noted the flashes were too irregular to determine their frequency. Only 20% of the astronauts suggested that the light flashes sometimes disturbed their sleep. Given the critical nature of space travel having 20% of the crew in a sleep deprived state could have a critical impact on mission success.
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Astronomy
astronomy.com › home › how do astronauts sleep in space?
How do astronauts sleep in space?
August 7, 2024 - They sleep near an air vent to avoid this potential lack of oxygen to the brain. Brain cells are sensitive. In less than five minutes, brain cells can start to die without oxygen. Brain hypoxia can cause brain damage, or worse, death. Space is silent, but a spacecraft is not.