Astronaut sleep cycle to get light boost

Thursday 2nd August 2012

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) may be about to have their sleep problems solved after a light programme designed to work with the body’s natural circadian rhythm was given initial approval by NASA, reports Wired.co.uk. The specially-developed LED system, created by a Thomas Jefferson University team lead by neuroscientist George C Brainard, generates variations of ‘colour temperature’ to replicate the lighting conditions of morning and evening, as well as normal working hours.

Once they go through vigorous space travel testing and approval, expected in three years, 100 of the LED units will replace the ISS’s original fluorescent tube lighting.

Astronauts suffer a unique sleep environment that isn’t particularly conducive to the highly-specialist work that they carry out on a daily basis. The ISS orbits the planet every 90 minutes, fast-forwarding the natural lighting environment experienced over 24 hours on Earth. Although they are given 8.5 hours to sleep, the demanding and immediate nature of their jobs mean that astronauts get on average just 6 hours sleep.

Light is well-known as one of the main environmental factors that determines our sleep/wake behaviour, with direct relation to the production of hormones related to both tiredness and alertness.
 

Tags: sleep light nasa astronaut

Category: Sleep Research

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