Sleep Like an Astronaut: NASA's Sleep Scientist on Body Clocks, Shift Work & Sleep Apnea in Space

Ever feel jet-lagged on a Monday without leaving your house? Or notice that a few night shifts can scramble your sleep for a week?

Now imagine a sunrise every 90 minutes.

That's life on the International Space Station, where astronauts circle the Earth on a loop of 45 minutes of light and 45 minutes of dark. So how does NASA get them to sleep? Not with a gadget. With a bedtime.

On my birthday (yes, really), I sat down with Dr. Erin Flynn-Evans, director of the Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center, who helps keep astronauts rested on everything from the space station to the Artemis missions. Her work reaches far beyond orbit, to pilots, physicians, and every shift worker trying to sleep while the world is awake.

Ever feel jet-lagged on a Monday without leaving your house? Or notice that a few night shifts can scramble your sleep for a week?

Now imagine a sunrise every 90 minutes.

That's life on the International Space Station, where astronauts circle the Earth on a loop of 45 minutes of light and 45 minutes of dark. So how does NASA get them to sleep? Not with a gadget. With a bedtime.

On my birthday (yes, really), I sat down with Dr. Erin Flynn-Evans, director of the Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center, who helps keep astronauts rested on everything from the space station to the Artemis missions. Her work reaches far beyond orbit, to pilots, physicians, and every shift worker trying to sleep while the world is awake.

The takeaway for those of us on Earth: you don't need a supplement or the newest tracker. Keep a regular bedtime and wake time, give yourself a real wind-down routine, and stop treating exhaustion as normal. Sleep is not a luxury. Even NASA builds the mission around it.



Learn more about Dr. Flynn-Evans's lab: https://www.nasa.gov/human-systems-integration-division/human-performance/fatigue-countermeasures-laboratory

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This episode is for educational purposes and isn't medical advice. If you're struggling with sleep, talk to a board-certified sleep physician.