Washington: NASA plans to help combat astronaut insomnia aboard the
International Space Station (ISS) with a new lighting system.
NASA plans to replace the fluorescent bulbs in the US section of
the ISS with a system that switches between blue, white and red
lights depending on the time of day. The new bulbs are scheduled
to be installed in the space station by 2016.
"The station is noisy, carbon dioxide is high, you don't have a
shower, there's a lot of angst because you've got to perform,"
Smith Johnston, NASA flight surgeon, told Space.com about the
unusual environment and demanding schedules that can cause some
astronauts to have problems sleeping.
"Imagine if you have a camera on you 24 hours a day," he said,
adding that everyone has a day-night schedule that must be
respected, including astronauts.
Half of the astronauts aboard space shuttles rely on sleep
medication at some point to receive rest, and according to
Space.com, NASA is investing $11.2 million into a new lighting
system that should help regulate their body clocks and decrease
the need for sleep-inducing drugs.
"You can dial in a natural day-night cycle on the space station"
with the new light system, Johnston said.
Astronauts on average receive six hours of sleep even though they
are allowed 8.5 hours.
With the new lights, NASA hopes to reduce astronaut sleep
deprivation, which can cause irritation, depression, illness and
mistakes leading to potential problems in the shuttle's confined
quarters.
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