Astronaut shows how she goes to sleep in space

How an astronaut sleeps in space is fascinating.

by | Published on 16th Jun 2023

The overwhelming majority of humans inhabiting Earth will never get to experience spaceflight.

However, some lucky, and hardworking people are sharing that experience with the rest of us.

READ MORE! Google now lets you explore the International Space Station from Earth

One astronaut has explained how she sleeps in space – and it’s fascinating.

Just like on Earth, in space an astronaut goes to bed at a certain time, then wakes up and prepares for work again.

There are, of course, a few differences.

Space has no “up” or “down”, but it does have microgravity.

As a result, astronauts are weightless and can sleep in any orientation.

Even if you’re sleeping upside down, the brain doesn’t recognize that you are – how crazy?

However, the astronauts have to attach themselves to something so they don’t float around and bump into something.

In a video posted to TikTok by russellshelby, the female astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) talks about her “sleep station”.

Space station crews usually sleep in sleeping bags located in sleep stations or crew cabins.

Each sleep station is just big enough for one person, although the astronaut says she’s got a computer, books, and some other home comforts in there.

In the video, the astronaut explains that there are four sleep stations so the astronauts sleep in a small circle.

Generally, atsronauts are scheduled for eight hours of sleep at the end of each mission day.

Like on Earth, different things can disrupt an astronaut’s sleep pattern.

During their sleep period, astronauts have reported having dreams and nightmares.

It’s all very fascinating, but we’re not sure we’d be getting much sleep, floating around in such a small confined space.

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Adam Gray is an experienced motoring journalist and content creator based in the United Kingdom. Using his media accreditation with motor manufacturers’ press offices, Adam test drives the latest cars and attends new vehicle press launches, producing written reviews and news pieces for supercarblondie.com. Before joining the Supercar Blondie team, Adam was Motoring Editor for Portfolio North magazine, North East Motoring Editor at Reach plc, and provided motoring content on a freelance basis to several lifestyle and business publications in the North of England. When he’s not behind the wheel of the latest car, Adam can be found at his local rink playing ice hockey or supporting his beloved Middlesbrough FC.

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