Speaker
Description
Studies in isolated, confined and extreme (ICE) environments demonstrated that stressors, analogous to those present during spaceflight, induce detrimental effects on human well-being. However, several ground-based models do not replicate the ever changing environmental conditions astronauts will face in deep-space missions, which are similar to the ones experienced by maritime explorers of the past centuries. Based on these considerations, we explored the psychological effects of long-term solo oceanic sailing as a possible analogue for space deep-space mission.
AB finished the Global Solo Challenge 2023 in around 155 days, completing two questionnaires daily. The first assessed total sleep time (TST), sleep quality (SQ) and sleepiness perception (SP), the second emotional state with 8 adjective pairs based on the Circumplex Model, clustered in 4 emotional factors.
According to the Mann-Kendall test, SQ ratings followed a negative trend (p=0.003), while high- (p=.021), and low-arousal emotions (p=.004) a positive trend. Notably, Generalized Least Square models revealed that TST was positively associated with SQ (p<0.001) and negatively associated with SP (p<.001), and that SP was positively associated with low-arousal emotions (p<.001).
Long-term solo sailing led to significant trends in sleep quality and high-arousal emotions in line with previous results of ICE environments studies. Furthermore, the increasing low-arousal emotions over time could be explained by the association with increase in sleepiness perception. Long-term solo sailing may be employed to simulate stressors present during spaceflight and in deep-space missions.
| If you're submitting a symposium talk, what's the symposium title? | The Psychology of Space Exploration and Extreme Environments |
|---|---|
| If you're submitting a symposium, or a talk that is part of a symposium, is this a junior symposium? | No |
