Psychological strain: examining the effect of hypoxic bedrest and confinement.
The aim was to assess the effect of a 10-day exposure to the environmental stressors anticipated in future lunar habitats on indices of psychological strain. In addition to the reduced gravity of the Moon, future habitats on the Moon will likely maintain a hypobaric hypoxic environment. The hypobaric environment will eliminate the need for long decompression profiles prior to each extra-vehicular activity. We investigated the indices of psychological strain during three 10-day conditions, designed to assess the separate and combined effects of inactivity/unloading and normobaric hypoxia on several physiological systems. Eleven male participants underwent three 10-day campaigns in a randomised manner: 1) normobaric normoxic bed rest (NBR), 2) normobaric hypoxic bed rest (HBR) and 3) normobaric hypoxic ambulatory confinement (HAMB). The most negative psychological profile appeared on day 10 of the HBR and HAMB (hypoxic) conditions. Concomitantly, a decrease in positive emotions was observed from baseline to day 10 of the HBR and NBR conditions. Thus, confinement in a hypoxic environment seems to exert a negative effect on an individual's psychological mood.
['Stavrou|Nektarios A M|NA|', 'McDonnell|Adam C|AC|', 'Eiken|Ola|O|', 'Mekjavic|Igor B|IB|']
D000339:Affect D000532:Altitude Sickness D062186:Arterial Pressure D001510:Bed Rest D006339:Heart Rate D006801:Humans D000860:Hypoxia D008297:Male D009043:Motor Activity D010108:Oxyhemoglobins D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D055815:Young Adult
Psychological strain Bedrest Inactivity Hypoxia Mood Negative affect Positive affect