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Astronomy
astronomy.com › home › how do astronauts sleep in space?
How do astronauts sleep in space?
August 7, 2024 - Between zero gravity and small sleeping quarters, astronauts have to sleep in space, even if it’s difficult. By Jonathan Shipley | Published: June 16, 2022 | Last updated on August 7, 2024 ... In 1963, Gordon Cooper piloted the longest and last Mercury spaceflight: Mercury-Atlas 9. While Cooper was up in space, on a 34-hour mission, he became the first American to spend an entire day in space and the first to sleep in space. But how does an astronaut sleep in space?
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HowStuffWorks
science.howstuffworks.com › space › spaceflight
What is it like to sleep in space? | HowStuffWorks
September 5, 2024 - But microgravity causes astronauts to experience the effects of weightlessness, and setting up a mattress on the floor can't be part of the plan because not only would the astronaut float away after dozing off, the mattress itself would also drift off, creating the potential for midair collisions. Because of this effect, astronauts could, theoretically, sleep almost anywhere in a spacecraft.

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 - Human spaceflight often requires astronaut crews to endure long periods without rest. Studies have shown that lack of sleep can cause fatigue that leads to errors while performing critical tasks. Also, individuals who are fatigued often cannot determine the degree of their impairment.
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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
(Credit: NASA) Even though astronauts are allotted about 8.5 hours for sleep every day, many of them have reported needing only about 6 hours to feel fully rested. Some specialists believe that this is because the body tires less quickly in ...
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NASA
nasa.gov › wp-content › uploads › 2015 › 05 › 167746main_fs_livingandworkinginspace508c.pdf pdf
National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA Facts.
The Zvezda Service Module is the primary living quarters for the · astronauts and houses the galley, refrigerator/freezer, exercise · equipment, sleeping cabin, toilet, washbasin and a kitchen table. Using the bathroom · without gravity is a · different experience. The toilet aboard the · space station doesn’t ·
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PubMed Central
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC5975626
On-orbit sleep problems of astronauts and countermeasures - PMC
During the flight, when sleep time was suddenly interrupted by operational needs or social activities, astronauts were prone to sleepless and fatigue. According to reports, there was a sudden change of schedule in 13% of 2043 days aboard ISS, and usually occurring during or before the key operation (such as spacecraft docking or detachment, extravehicular activity etc.)
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/beamazed › how astronauts sleep in the international space station
How astronauts sleep in the international space station : r/BeAmazed
January 22, 2024 - Just wait until you come back to earth a few weeks/months later and everything hurts. Standing up is supposedly the worst most painful pins and needles everywhere, and you feel dizzy and nauseous all the time. They pull astronauts out on cushions for a reason. ... Like, you just kinda close your eyes. Would be like being in a sensory depravation chamber. ... I can imagine it’s disorienting and tough to fall asleep at first because you’ve lived your entire life lying or sitting down to sleep, but once you get used to it it’s probably quite comfortable.
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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 - Rotating crews have spent an average of six months living and working aboard the International Space Station for nearly 23 years, and they struggle with sleep issues just like people on Earth.
Find elsewhere
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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
Sleep deficiency in astronauts was prevalent not only during space shuttle and ISS missions, but also throughout a 3-month pre-flight training interval. Despite chronic sleep curtailment, sleeping pill use was pervasive during spaceflight. As chronic sleep loss produces performance decrements, ...
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NASA Technical Reports Server
ntrs.nasa.gov › citations › 20230003916
Astronaut Sleep Duration Varies by Timing of Scheduled Sleep - NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
March 23, 2023 - They averaged 7.33 hours of sleep per night (± 1.16, SD) in space. Though this was significantly less sleep than they achieved preflight (7.87 ± 1.10) or postflight (7.75 ± 1.43, p < .01), this duration of sleep meets the recommended amount for optimal human health and well-being.
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Washington Post
washingtonpost.com › opinions › opinion columns
Opinion | What does it feel like for astronauts to sleep in space? - The Washington Post
May 5, 2025 - Astronaut Ron Garan sleeps in his sleeping bag on the International Space Station in 2008. (NASA) In March, two NASA astronauts finally returned to Earth after an eight-day mission devolved into a 286-day stay aboard the International Space Station. It was a relief to see them return, but it all made me wonder: How did the castaways manage to get enough rest floating weightless for nine months...
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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 - This is easier to do on Earth — where the body is naturally acclimated to a 24-hour day — than it is in space, where the sun rises and sets 15 to 16 times a day, and so maintaining that 24-hour sleep schedule may not come as naturally. Astronauts have to train their minds and bodies to maintain a 24-hour circadian rhythm to ensure optimal mental functioning and sleep quality.
Top answer
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See Sleeping in Space..

… Space Station crews usually sleep in sleeping bags. On the Space Station there are two small crew cabins. Each one is just big enough for one person. Inside both crew cabins is a sleeping bag and a large window to look out in space. Currently, Space Station crews have three astronauts living and working in space for months at a time. Where does the third astronaut sleep? If it's okay with the commander, the astronaut can sleep anywhere in the Space Station so long as they attach themselves to something.

Astronaut Susan Helms slept in the huge Destiny Laboratory Module by herself while she was living aboard the International Space Station. This is on the opposite side of the station from the Service Module where her crewmates slept. …

Update

That is the basics of how the crew sleep. Here is a more detailed discussion of where they sleep as well as more details on the cabins etc.

@geoffc This info is pre-ISS full build. Node 2 has 4 sleeping quarters, and there are 3 sleeping berths in the Russian side.

More from International Space Station: Crew activities:

… The station provides crew quarters for each member of the expedition's crew, with two 'sleep stations' in the Zvezda and four more installed in Harmony. The American quarters are private, approximately person-sized soundproof booths. The Russian crew quarters include a small window, but do not provide the same amount of ventilation or block the same amount of noise as their American counterparts. A crewmember can sleep in a crew quarter in a tethered sleeping bag, listen to music, use a laptop, and store personal items in a large drawer or in nets attached to the module's walls. The module also provides a reading lamp, a shelf and a desktop. Visiting crews have no allocated sleep module, and attach a sleeping bag to an available space on a wall — it is possible to sleep floating freely through the station, but this is generally avoided because of the possibility of bumping into sensitive equipment. It is important that crew accommodations be well ventilated; otherwise, astronauts can wake up oxygen-deprived and gasping for air, because a bubble of their own exhaled carbon dioxide has formed around their heads.

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You would want to watch Suni Williams' tour of the station videos:

It's the easiest to understand it. But in essence, they have sleeping stations like for example in the Node 2 (Harmony) module shown in video, with sleeping bags inside. If the video gets a bit confusing where some direction is, note that there's labels with orientations around the bulkhead behind Suni (OVHD for overhead, PORT,...).

You might wonder where the need to have those sleeping bags tied down comes from, if they're sleeping in microgravity. It's essentially to prevent them from unwittingly pushing themselves around during sleep, but there are slight external forces acting on them too, mainly air ventilation system preventing pockets of carbon dioxide, and slight gravity gradient that still exists in orbit and where the term microgravity comes from, describing its amplitude relative to 1 g. The bags are needed because the temperature at the station is kept slightly on the cold side of things if you're used to warmer climates (currently 23.20 °C in the Destiny module but the crew is up now with three out of six doing exercises) for various reasons, including the air itself serving as a coolant for various equipment, for hygienic reasons to prevent body odor, sweating, slow down growth of fungi and yeasts,... and due to air ventilation. And the doors are of course there to ensure some privacy.

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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 - Sleeping in space was an outstanding” experience for NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, who has flown two spaceflights and spent more than 100 days in space. There’s no up or down in microgravity, so astronauts can choose to sleep in any direction that’s comfortable.
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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 - This process is regulated by the complex interaction of many factors such as light, temperature, posture, and feeding. So we tend to sleep when it’s dark, we lie down when we sleep, we don’t eat when we should sleep, and our body temperature drops to a minimum while asleep. But for astronauts, these factors are disrupted during long-term spaceflight.
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Quora
quora.com › Do-astronauts-sleep-in-space-If-so-how-do-they-stay-in-place-while-sleeping
Do astronauts sleep in space? If so, how do they stay in place while sleeping? - Quora
Answer: Of course they sleep in space. They’re on the ISS for months. No one can go that long without sleep. On the ISS, they sleep in sleeping bags which get strapped to the wall.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/isaacarthur › how astronauts sleep at the international space station in zero gravity
r/IsaacArthur on Reddit: How astronauts sleep at the International Space Station in zero gravity
December 15, 2023 - Because of a lack of gravity, astronauts can sleep in any position. They sleep in sleeping bags that have to be tied down to prevent them from floating around during their slumber.
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Jaxa
iss.jaxa.jp › kids › en › life › 05.html
Sleep: How can they sleep when they are floating in space?
In the zero-gravity world, there are no "ups" or "downs". The astronauts can sleep anywhere facing any direction. But it's not good to be floating away somewhere while sleeping. So the astronauts use small sleeping compartments and sleeping bags. They will strap their bodies loosely so that ...
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Smithsonian Magazine
smithsonianmag.com › air-space-magazine › hibernation-for-space-voyages-180962394
Sleeping Their Way to Mars
March 7, 2017 - Some day, astronauts packed into rocketing tin cans bound for other planets may be protected from radiation and space sickness by having their metabolisms depressed to a fraction of their typical rate. They’ll hibernate like bears as they hurtle through space for months at a time. Perhaps they’ll sleep ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/space › sleeping will be one of the challenges for astronauts on mars missions
r/space on Reddit: Sleeping will be one of the challenges for astronauts on Mars missions
May 15, 2023 - Doesn't even need to be 1G, just a fraction of a G to tell the brain "yep gravity still exists" ought to help fix most subconscious issues. ... A number of people have spent 6-12 months in space, and that's plenty of time to get to Mars. And given the fact that the first few missions to Mars will probably be very few people, most issues with spending extended time in space shouldn't be a problem. They can just send experienced astronauts who know what they're getting in to and know they can deal with the unusual issues of zero g.