Abstract

Sleep deficiencies and associated performance decrements are common among astronauts during spaceflight missions. Previously, sleep in space was analyzed with a focus on global measures while the intricate structure of sleep oscillations remains largely unexplored. This study extends previous findings by analyzing how spaceflight affects characteristics of sleep spindles and slow waves, two sleep oscillations associated with sleep quality and quantity, in four astronauts before, during and after two Space Shuttle missions. Analysis of these oscillations revealed significantly increased fast spindle density, elevated slow spindle frequency, and decreased slow wave amplitude in space compared to on Earth. These results reflect sleep characteristics during spaceflight on a finer electrophysiological scale and provide an opportunity for further research on sleep in space.

Details

Title
Altered sleep spindles and slow waves during space shuttle missions
Author
Koller, Dominik P 1 ; Kasanin Vida 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Flynn-Evans, Erin E 2 ; Sullivan, Jason P 3 ; Derk-Jan, Dijk 4 ; Czeisler, Charles A 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Barger, Laura K 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

1  Advanced Concepts Team, European Space Agency, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands (GRID:grid.424669.b) (ISNI:0000 0004 1797 969X) 
2  Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory, Human Systems Integration Division, Exploration Technology Directorate, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, USA (GRID:grid.419075.e) (ISNI:0000 0001 1955 7990) 
3  Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Department of Medicine, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.62560.37) (ISNI:0000 0004 0378 8294) 
4  University of Surrey, Surrey Sleep Research Centre, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Guildford, UK (GRID:grid.5475.3) (ISNI:0000 0004 0407 4824); Imperial College London and the University of Surrey, UK Dementia Research Institute Care Research and Technology Centre, Guildford, UK (GRID:grid.7445.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2113 8111) 
5  Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Department of Medicine, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.62560.37) (ISNI:0000 0004 0378 8294); Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X) 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
23738065
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-021-00177-1
ProQuest document ID
2598833994
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.