title: Keeping the right time in space: importance of circadian clock and sleep for physiology and performance of astronauts.
abstract: The circadian clock and sleep are essential for human physiology and behavior; deregulation of circadian rhythms impairs health and performance. Circadian clocks and sleep evolved to adapt to Earth's environment, which is characterized by a 24-hour light-dark cycle. Changes in gravity load, lighting and work schedules during spaceflight missions can impact circadian clocks and disrupt sleep, in turn jeopardizing the mood, cognition and performance of orbiting astronauts. In this review, we summarize our understanding of both the influence of the space environment on the circadian timing system and sleep and the impact of these changes on astronaut physiology and performance.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Gene Engineering of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006 China.
authors.forename: Jin-Hu
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032 China.
authors.forename: Wei-Min
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Human Factors Engineering, China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, 100094 China.
authors.forename: Shan-Guang
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Human Factors Engineering, China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, 100094 China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ping
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Space Medicine Fundamentals and Application, China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, 100094 China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032 China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Li
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Gene Engineering of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006 China.
authors.forename: Yi-Lan
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wu
keywords: Circadian rhythm; Countermeasure; Performance; Sleep; Space