What the sleeping space is like
The cabin is about the size of a phone booth, with the bag strapped to the wall. You have to strap yourself in: otherwise, the airflow will carry you away, and you'll wake up by a grille at the other end of the module.
In weightlessness, your body settles into a relaxed position: your arms are slightly raised and hang in front of you, while your back is slightly curved. Many people say it feels comfortable because there is no pressure at all on your shoulders or hips.
Fasten the bag to the wall. Then fasten yourself inside it, or the airflow will carry you away.
Cover your eyes with a mask. The light outside the window changes every 1.5 hours.
Put in earplugs. The ventilation and equipment make constant noise, so the station is never quiet.
Go to sleep on schedule. Without external signs of time, you can stick to a routine only by following the schedule.
The third point is often underestimated. Noise on the station stays at the level of a busy street and never stops: the ventilation cannot be turned off, the air does not circulate on its own, and you would suffocate on your own exhaled breath.
How much sleep you actually get
How much sleep you get out of the time planned
The schedule allows about 8.5 hours for sleep, but in reality you get about 6. This is a consistent pattern observed across different flights, and it has several causes.
A shifted body clock, noise, cramped quarters, and a stuffy nose all get in the way: in weightlessness, fluid shifts toward your head, creating a feeling similar to having a constant cold. Sleeping pills are used frequently on the station.
Working on Earth time adds another challenge. The crew follows the time zone of mission control, while cargo ship arrivals and spacewalks shift the schedule, so the routine has to be adjusted as it would be after a flight across time zones.
There is also one detail almost everyone mentions. During the first few nights, your brain does not understand where up is, and you wake with the sensation of falling. This passes within a few days, as your internal body map readjusts.
Finish reading in the Miqo app
1 more minute, then a quiz at the end. Find it under “Space → Body in Space”
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Sources
- Studies of sleep on orbital stations show an average duration of about 6 hours versus 8.5 hours planned
- noise, shifted circadian rhythms, and the redistribution of fluid in the body are among the noted causes