Results of Mission 31 Sleep Research Selected by Conference for Publication and Presentation

Staff from Clayton Sleep Institute (CSI) and Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center (HFH) teamed up to produce a research abstract and poster selected for SLEEP, the 29th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies meeting, June 6-10, 2015.  The research report, “Effects of Living in an Underwater Habitat on Sleep Parameters,” is the result of sleep data gathered during Mission 31, a record-setting 31-day stay in the Aquarius underwater habitat achieved by Fabien Cousteau and his Mission 31 team from June 1-July 1, 2014.  Aquarius habitat is located off of Key Largo, Fl., 63 feet below the surface. Mission 31 was supported in part by Clayton Sleep Institute and the Mission 31 sleep research was sponsored by CSI Research Center.

During Mission 31, sleep data was collected by using standardized electronic sleep diaries and actigraphy (wrist activity monitors) from the Mission 31 participants. Participants lived in the Aquarius habitat for stints of either 15 nights (six individuals) or 30 nights (three individuals), and completed sleep questionnaires post-mission.  The Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test and the Insomnia Severity Index are the two self-report measures used in the research process.

Research Results and Conclusions

Data from sleep diaries showed large effect size (a measure of difference between two factors) of sleep location—underwater or on the surface—on sleep efficiency—the ratio of total sleep time to total time in bed—with sleep efficiency being somewhat lower underwater compared to surface levels, and on sleep onset latency—the time to go from wake to sleep—with greater sleep latency underwater compared to surface levels.  Actigraphy data showed low levels of total sleep time and low sleep onset latency for the duration of the mission, regardless of location.  Overall, the results suggest that in normal healthy individuals, minimal sleep disruption occurs in an underwater habitat for durations up to 31 days.

The Program Committee of the Associated Sleep Research Professional Societies published the abstract in SLEEP, Volume 38 supplement and selected the abstract for a poster presentation at the 2015 annual joint meeting of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.  Jason R. Anderson, B.S., Clinical Research Assistant at Henry Ford, will present the poster at SLEEP on June 10, 2015.  Joseph M. Ojile, MD, CEO of Clayton Sleep Institute and Christopher L. Drake, PhD, Director of the Sleep Research Laboratory at Henry Ford Hospital, served as co-investigators for the study, with collaborators Jason Anderson from Henry Ford, Mark Muehlbach and Dani Correa from Clayton Sleep Institute, Fabien Cousteau and Saul Rosser from Mission 31 and L. Belcher from the Pritzker School of Medicine.