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Microgravity reduces sleep-disordered breathing in humans.

A R Elliott1, S A Shea, D J Dijk

  • 1Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0931, USA.

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
|August 14, 2001
PubMed
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Spaceflight significantly reduces sleep-disordered breathing events, including apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and snoring, in healthy individuals. This suggests gravity plays a key role in causing these sleep disturbances.

Area of Science:

  • Space medicine
  • Sleep science
  • Respiratory physiology

Background:

  • Sleep quality is crucial for astronaut health and performance.
  • Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is common on Earth but its prevalence in space is unknown.
  • Understanding SDB in microgravity is essential for long-duration space missions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of spaceflight on sleep-disordered breathing in healthy subjects.
  • To determine the role of microgravity in the occurrence of apneas, hypopneas, and snoring.
  • To assess changes in sleep quality related to SDB during space missions.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 77 polysomnographic recordings (PSGs) from five healthy astronauts.
  • PSGs were collected before, during (16- or 9-day missions), and after spaceflight.
Keywords:
NASA Discipline Regulatory PhysiologyNASA Experiment Number 9301198Non-NASA Center

Related Experiment Videos

  • Key metrics analyzed included apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), snoring, and electroencephalogram (EEG) arousals.

    • Main Results:

    • Microgravity was associated with a 55% reduction in AHI (8.3 to 3.4 events/h).
    • Snoring decreased from 16.5% to 0.7% of total sleep time.
    • Respiratory-related EEG arousals decreased significantly in microgravity (from 5.5 to 1.8 arousals/h).

    Conclusions:

    • Sleep quality in spaceflight is not degraded by sleep-disordered breathing.
    • Gravity plays a dominant role in the generation of apneas, hypopneas, and snoring.
    • Findings suggest SDB may be less of a concern for astronauts than previously thought.