Shiftwork in space - Bright light as a chronobiologic countermeasureThe potential of timed exposures to bright light as a countermeasure to the changes in the work/rest schedules during space missions was investigated. In the experiments, four human subjects were exposed to two sessions of eleven days of simulated weightlessness (6-deg head-down-tilt bedrest) with 6-hr extensions of the scheduled wake time on days 3 and 4 (a 12-hr phase delay). In a blind crossover design, subjects were exposed to bright light (greater than 3500 lux) for 5 hrs on each of the two shift days and on the following day, at times expected to accelerate adaptation to the phase delay (experimental group), or have no phase shifting effect (control group). Results indicate that bright light may accelerate the rate of adaptation to work/rest schedule delays under simulated weightlessness conditions. However, such effect was found to be largely independent of the timing of the light exposure.
Document ID
19920039183
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Gander, Philippa H. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Samel, Alexander (DLR, Institut fuer Flugmedizin, Cologne Federal Republic of Germany, United States)