How astronauts sleep in space
16-05-2013
Have you ever wondered how astronauts sleep in space? Well you wouldn’t be the first person. Almost everything we do in our daily lives is challenging in space. You can’t eat a meal like we do, as it would all simply float off the place. Instead astronauts eat out of tubes. Sleeping is something else that is somewhat more difficult when you are in space.
Here on Earth the only way to be comfortable is to lie horizontally. In space there is no real horizontal and if you simply tried to lie on a surface you would drift away the second you moved. When astronauts go to sleep they jump into something very much like a sleeping bag. The sleeping bag can be strapped to any surface, allowing the astronauts to fall asleep safe in the knowledge that they are not going to cast themselves adrift while they sleep.
The good thing about sleeping in space is that you can do it on any reasonably flat surface, you do not have to sleep on a bed or even on something soft as you do not press against the surface you are sleeping on. In other words there is no worry you are going to get jabbed by a misbehaving spring in the middle of the night.
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