Sleepless in space, astronauts rely on sleep pills unsuited to ‘hazardous occupation

Rucking_Fetard

May cause drowsiness, decreased mental alertness, and problems with coordination. Don’t drive or operate machinery. Don’t engage in hazardous occupations requiring complete mental alertness or motor coordination.

These are among the standard warnings for lots of sleeping pills. And that’s fine if you don’t have to go out on the highway or operate a backhoe.
But what if your workplace 24 hours per day is a big, heavy, hazardous machine in outer space, like the shuttle of the International Space Station?
The question is getting renewed attention in the most extensive study to date of the sleeping habits of astronauts as recorded in flight.



They’ve got a problem sleeping, it said, and lots of them, up to three-fourths, take medication to help them doze off.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/08/study-sleepless-in-space-astronauts-rely-on-sleeping-pills-unsuited-to-hazardous-occupations/

shanered

The red tape doesn't extend to space obviously