Today I had a chance to help the development process of an experiment that I will perform on ISS during my mission.
Many astronauts report that they don’t sleep as well on ISS as they do on the ground. Most tend to sleep a bit less than on Earth and feel somewhat less rested.
The experiment in question aims at studying the heart activity during sleep. Thanks to a series of sensors embedded in a tight-fitting T-shirt, an electrocardiogram can be recorded while the astronaut sleeps. Also, an 3-axis accelerometer placed on the sternum can record data that can give insight into the cardiac mechanics in microgravity. While I was trying the T-shirt on today, the Primary Investigator could show me on the accelerometer traces the opening and closing of the different valves of my heart. Pretty cool, ah?
Investigating these phenomena on healthy people in unique environments (like microgravity) can give scientists insight that can help sick people on Earth. For examples, the same micro-awakenings that this experiment aims to observe in astronauts (via their heart rate variance) have been tentatively shown to exist in narcoleptic people. Learned a lot again today!
In the picture, my good friend Cady Coleman peaking out of her crew quarters on ISS!
Cady on Space Station. Credits: NASA
17/09/2013