How the design of a sleeping bag can support counter-measuring fatigue

• Relationship of the functional design of sleeping bags and the related life sciences aspects.
• 6 case studies of representative sleeping bag designs for micro-gravity of the last 50 years.
• Current situation indicates no medical studies regarding the above mentioned relationship.
• Sleep during long exposure to microgravity does not always ensure good recovery of capabilities.
• Paper findings can serve as basis for future research.

The paper discusses six case studies of sleeping bag design, one used by astronauts onboard the Space Shuttle and another currently being used on the ISS, which was developed by a Russian company. Two inflatable designs, one by Wubbo Ockels for ESA and one by the University of Technology in Munich in cooperation with NASA are chosen as case studies as well. Two recent designs set a new paradigm and option of sleeping in zero-g. The cut of the sleeping bag of these two design case studies allows the person to relax and sleep in the neutral body position. They were developed by Toshiroh Ikegami from Kyoto City University of Arts and astronaut Chiaki Mukai for JAXA, and by the Vienna based team LIQUIFER Systems Group in cooperation with ESA-astronaut Gerhard Thiele.Currently there is an increased interest in astronauts' and cosmonauts' sleep quality and related comfort because analysis of their sleep quality showed that sleep during long exposure to microgravity does not always ensure good recovery of cognitive and functional capabilities. Present research in the area of sleep and performance preservation include studies by the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow and the NASA-JSC study from the Behavioral Health and Performance Element Human Research Program about improving sleep quality on ISS.In the context of the paper the operational medical challenges of sleep quality will be described in order to establish the relevance of effective sleeping bag designs to support spaceflight crewmembers' well-being.