related article
27 March 2006
With Mars And The Moon In View, Human Physiology Study Shows 6 Degrees Of Decline Is The Ticket To Ride
The so-called “head-down minus 6 degree bedrest” paradigm resulted from early interactions between the Soviet and U.S. researchers and doctors that considered a large range of angles that would mimic the cardiovascular effects of microgravity experienced by humans in space. However, “until our parallel studies on the STS-78 and at bedrest (BR), it was never specifically tested,” Trappe noted.
A “main finding from this study highlights the adequacy of (minus 6-degree) BR as an analog for space flight,” the paper stated. Furthermore, the findings showed that “minus-6-degree BR is an appropriate simulation of in-flight and postflight physiological responses to exercise. This is evidenced by the fact that the direction, magnitude, and time course of the changes in the cardiorespiratory responses to exercise were similar between BR and SF.”
this is an excellent article explaining the negative six degrees, how it came about and why it works.
