By Girish Linganna

Mar 16: According to Popular Science, Traveling in space can have negative impacts on physical health, such as disrupting the immune system and increasing the death of red blood cells. This is why space travel requires individuals to be mentally and physically prepared.

Astronauts can experience bone loss and an increase in headaches during long space missions lasting over 10 days. These headaches may include migraines and tension-type headaches that were not present in astronauts before the mission.

According to Popular Science, the research results were outlined in a study released on March 13 in the medical journal Neurology, which is affiliated with the American Academy of Neurology.

According to a statement from W. P. J. van Oosterhout, a neurologist at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands and co-author of the study, the impact of changes in gravity due to space travel can influence the function of various body parts, including the brain.

The vestibular system, responsible for balance and posture regulation, must adjust to the discrepancy between the anticipated signals and the actual signals it detects in the absence of typical gravity.

The vestibular system is a sensory system in the inner ear that helps regulate balance and spatial orientation. It detects changes in head position and movement, providing information to the brain about body position and motion. This system plays a crucial role in functions such as walking, standing, and maintaining equilibrium.

Spatial orientation refers to one's ability to understand and perceive their position in relation to the surrounding environment. It involves awareness of directions (such as up, down, left, right), distances, and the physical relationships between objects in space. Maintaining spatial orientation helps individuals navigate and interact effectively with their surroundings.

The research examined 24 astronauts affiliated with NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).All the astronauts participated in International Space Station missions lasting up to 26 weeks, between November 2011 and June 2018.Altogether, the astronauts under study accumulated a collective total of 3,596 days in space.

Before their space missions, all astronauts underwent health screenings and completed a questionnaire regarding their personal history of headaches.Out of the participants, nine stated they had never experienced headaches before the study, while three mentioned having a headache that affected their daily routines within the past year.None of the astronauts had a background of persistent headaches or had been diagnosed with migraines.

Throughout their time on the International Space Station, the astronauts completed a daily questionnaire in the initial seven days and a weekly questionnaire for the rest of their stay. They documented a total of 378 headaches during their collective duration in space.

During space flight, 92% of astronauts had headaches, while only 38% experienced headaches in the 2 to 6 months before their space mission.Twenty-two out of the 24 astronauts studied also had one or more headache episodes during their initial week in space.Approximately 89% of these headaches were classified as tension headaches, while around 10% were deemed to be likely migraine episodes.During the initial week of space flight, headaches were more intense and more likely to resemble migraines.

Van Oosterhout stated that the alterations in the brain's equilibrium and posture system, along with adapting to zero gravity in the beginning of space travel, can result in space motion sickness within the first week, with headaches being the most commonly reported symptom.The research indicates that headaches can also occur later during space travel and may be associated with a rise in intracranial pressure.

After returning to Earth, the astronauts were monitored and none of them experienced headaches in the three months following their return.

One limitation of the study is that it depended on self-reported symptoms, so the accuracy of memory recall may have been incomplete. The study also only revealed an association between space travel and headaches, rather than claiming that space travel directly causes headaches.

Van Oosterhout emphasized the necessity for additional research to uncover the root causes of space-related headaches and to examine how such findings could offer understanding of headaches experienced on Earth. Additionally, the development of more efficient treatments is essential to address space headaches, as they often pose a significant issue for astronauts during space missions.

(The author Girish Linganna of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach out to him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com)