by Stanley Roberts

Created on: October 15, 2007

Believe me when I say an astronaut sleeps any way they want to. In space there is no up or down and no gravity. Since the astronauts are weightless in this environment they can sleep in any position they want. They do have to tether, or tie themselves in position though. If not they would float around bumping into things while they tried to sleep.

Space shuttle and space station astronauts have specially designed sleeping bags they use. The space shuttle also has four bunk beds for the astronauts. On missions with more than four astronauts the number over four have to either sleep in their seats or tethered to a wall or floor. Sleeping in the seats or near a window can be hindering though. The reason being is that during a spaceflight the sun rises every 90 minutes.

On the space station there are two small crew cabins. Each big enough for one person and it is equipped with a sleeping bag and a window. With more than two astronauts on the space station the other astronauts can sleep anywhere they want with the commanders approval.

Several factors have an affect on the astronauts sleep. Much the same as on earth. They may have to wake up to go to the bathroom. There has even been reports of dreams, nightmares and yes, snoring in space. The excitement of being in space or even motion sickness could disrupt an astronauts sleeping pattern.

On the space shuttle the astronauts are woken by music being played from mission control. They normally play a song for each astronaut on different days. They may even play a special request by one of the astronauts family members. The astronauts on the space station however use an alarm clock to wake them up each day.

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