8/13/2023 0 Comments Nasa in bed for 3 months![]() ![]() Participants also interact with each other, have televisions in their rooms, and have access to board games, video games, computers and the Internet. After a few days it feels very normal to them." Sometimes they'll bring musical instruments. "If you walk though our unit, you will not see people lying around bored," Neigut said. It is not a sleep study, and in fact participants are not allowed to sleep during the day. Neigut said the most common misconception is that a bed rest study is a sleep study. Study participants have access to television, movies, video games, computers and the Internet to help them occupy their time during bed rest studies. "But after a few days it went away (and felt) normal." "At first it felt like my head and upper torso was underwater, like under pressure," Juel said. An electrical engineer and machinist from Iowa, Juel said his biggest challenge during the study was depending on someone else and asking for help for nearly everything. "That's a big change, and I have bottled-up energy in place of all the calories I'm not burning."Īnother recent participant, 27-year-old Devin Juel, related the feeling of lying in bed to that of a baby who can't walk. ![]() "I always get out of bed and either run, go rollerblading or to the gym," she said. We encourage them to use their upper bodies, which mimics the astronauts who rely more on their upper bodies for mobility while in space."Īrchuletta said the hardest adjustment for her was not being able to get out of bed and exercise every day. "They do basically everything in bed, and they're not allowed to get up until the 90 days is over," said Ronita Cromwell, the Flight Analogs Project scientist. So just what exactly goes on while people are lying in bed for a 90-day bed rest study?ĭuring the 90-day bed rest study, participants do everything in bed, from showering to eating to socializing with other participants. Being able to test new ideas on Earth saves invaluable flight time, Neigut said. So, scientists have to be selective about what new countermeasures are submitted for in-flight testing. While in space, astronauts are limited in the amount of time they spend conducting research. "We're really about countermeasures and trying to use our facility to test countermeasures that may end up in flight." "What we're trying to do with bed rest is enable researchers to be able to perform science and different areas of research on these subjects," Neigut said. The facility opened in 2005, but project manager Joe Neigut said the concept of bed rest studies has been around for a long time. The studies are conducted at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, as part of the Flight Analog Project at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA uses countermeasures to minimize the changes that occur to the body during spaceflight and to enable the return of normal body functions once back on Earth. NASA calls these methods countermeasures. Through bed rest studies, NASA scientists develop new ways to keep astronauts healthier when they spend a long time in the microgravity of space. "I don't think I could ever do what a real astronaut does, but I am happy to mimic their journey for the sake of keeping future ones more healthy," Archuletta said. This tilt causes body fluids to shift to the upper part of the body much like they do in space. (Archuletta's study was cut short by Hurricane Ike.) The beds are tilted head-down at a six-degree angle. ![]() The study simulates the effects of long-duration spaceflight by having test subjects lie in beds for 90 days. Image Credit: Heather ArchulettaĮarlier this year Heather Archuletta experienced what it's like to be in space - well, sort of.Īrchuletta lay in bed for nearly two months as part of NASA's bed rest study. Participants' general health and fitness are evaluated prior to the 90-day test period. Heather Archuletta recently participated in a NASA bed rest study. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |