{"id":26125,"date":"2021-03-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.saatva.com\/sleeping-in-space\/"},"modified":"2023-06-22T15:33:30","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T15:33:30","slug":"sleeping-in-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saatva.com\/blog\/sleeping-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"This Is What It’s Really Like to Sleep in Space"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We all know a good night’s sleep<\/a> can provide out-of-this-world rewards such as alertness, energy, and vigor. But what’s it like to sleep when you are literally out of this world? And how do you sleep at all when the very idea of night doesn’t apply?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because we’re obsessed with all things sleep here at Saatva, we thought it’d be fun to take a closer look at what sleeping in space entails. What, exactly, do astronauts do to make their allotted eight-hour sleep time count? How do you sleep in space? Keep reading to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do astronauts sleep in space?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a recent interview with Travel & Leisure<\/a>, retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly shared plenty of details about sleeping in space. (After spending 520 days in space during his career, he certainly qualifies as an expert on space sleep!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpace isn\u2019t as spacious as you might think, particularly when it comes to your bedroom,” he said. He noted that astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) sleep in crew quarters roughly the size of an old-style phone booth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And forget the idea of stretching out horizontally on your bed. Microgravity means you can\u2019t really lie down anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSleeping is harder here in space than on a bed,\u201d said Kelly during a Reddit AMA<\/a> while on an extended stint onboard the ISS, \u201cbecause the sleep position<\/a> here is the same position throughout the day. You don\u2019t ever get that sense of gratifying relaxation that you do on Earth after a long day at work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because you have no sensation of lying down or being upside down in whatever position you choose, you can even sleep on the ceiling\u2014the preferred sleep platform of retired NASA astronaut Mike Massimino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI set up my sleeping bag so I would hook it to the ceiling so I could float up there like a bat, which was pretty cool,\u201d said Massimino, in a video interview with Wired<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Massimino explained that the sleeping bag isn\u2019t the kind you use at camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more like a bedroll with a lot of straps and hooks on it so you can hook it to things,” he said. “You don\u2019t want to get in your sleeping bag and float around the cabin, wake your friends and knock your head, so you attach it to things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also pointed out that even with the sleeping bag tethered to the wall (or ceiling), you’re still floating inside of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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