How Do You Sleep in Space?

At home, you lie on a bed to sleep. On the International Space Station, an astronaut can sleep in a bag fixed to a wall. In the station’s weightless conditions, there is no need for a normal bed. The bag helps the astronaut stay in one place.

Outside the window, day and night change very quickly. The station travels around Earth about once every ninety minutes. Astronauts can see roughly sixteen sunrises in a day. They cannot go to bed at every sunset!

Instead, the crew follows a daily timetable. Work, meals and sleep have planned times. Light is important too: the lighting can help show when it is time to work and when it is time to rest.

The station is not perfectly quiet. Machines make noise, and air must keep moving. A small sleeping space gives each astronaut some privacy. Sleeping in space is different, but a familiar routine still helps.