"6_2_5_8.TXT" (1516 bytes) was created on 03-22-88

                RECREATION AMD SLEEPING
     Just as on Earth, recreation and sleep are important to good health when
working in space.  Astronauts perform a scientifically planned exercise
program, largely to counter the atrophy some muscles experience in a weightless
environment.  Cards and other games, books, and taped music can be taken
aboard.  Tape recorders are available.
     Sleeping accommodations aboard the Shuttle vary, depending on the
requirements of the particular mission.  On the first flight, astronauts Young
and Crippen slept in the commander and pilot seats. They wanted to be instantly
available if needed.  Later crews slept in their seats, in sleeping bags, in
bunks, or by simply tethering themselves to the orbiter walls.
     The sleeping bags are cocoon-like restraints attached to the lockers where
crew provisions are stored.  In microgravity there is no 'up,' and the
astronauts can sleep as comfortably in the vertical position as the horizontal.
     A bunkbed kit was available by the time of the STS-9 mission. Crew members
could sleep in three horizontal bunks when these were installed, and an extra
vertical bunk was available if needed.  Each bunk comes complete with an
individual light, communications station, fan, sound suppression blanket, and
sheets with microgravity restraints.  The bunks even have pillows.
     When the bunks must be removed to allow room in the mid deck for
experiments or extra equipment, up to four optional sleeping bags can be used
instead.