Sleep and circadian rhythms in long duration space flight - Antarctica as an analogue environment

The feasibility of using Antarctica as an environment for studying the impact of unusual 24 h environmental cycles (zeitgebers) on the circadian system is discussed. Adaptation of circadian rhythms and sleep of three scientists travelling from New Zealand to Antarctica during summer (which is analogous to arrival at a lunar base during the lunar day) has been studied. Data obtained indicate that sleep occurred at the same clock time, but sleep quality was poorer in Antarctica, which can be explained by the fact that the circadian system delayed by about 2 h in Antarctica, as would be expected in a weaker zeitgeber environment. It is suggested that sleep could be improved by altering patterns of exposure to the available zeitgebers to increase their effective strength.