A group of Dutch researchers recently published A study About the symptoms of space sickness NeurologyMedical Journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Scientists They studied 24 astronauts from different space agencies Has participated in at least one mission to the International Space Station. Thanks for this review They were able to find a correlation between permanence in space and the frequent appearance of a particularly annoying disorder: headaches.
Space sickness is a common disorder
First, let's say a disorder space sickness, Caused by microgravity, with symptoms similar to seasickness or motion sickness, such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness and headache.
Most of these symptoms diminish or disappear during a stay in space as the astronauts' bodies adjust to the new conditions, but Some may experience persistent headaches during long spaceflights.
He was precisely the first author of this work, Willebrodus PJ van OosterhoutA researcher at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands explains:
Changes in gravity caused by space travel affect the functioning of many parts of the body, including the brain. The vestibular system, which affects balance and posture, must adapt to the conflict between the signals it expects to receive and the signals it actually receives under normal weightlessness. It can cause motion sickness in the first week, with headaches being the most common symptom.
The 24 astronauts who participated in the study reported that they did not suffer from recurrent headaches or migraines. 9 of them never had headache On earth, when 3 had occasional headaches.
These astronauts They had to complete a daily questionnaire for the first 7 days of their stay in space, then they had to complete a weekly questionnaire throughout their stay on the International Space Station (ISS). These belong to different nations and include ESA (European Space Agency), NASA (United States Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Space Agency) and They have participated in missions to the ISS for up to 26 weeks between November 2011 and June 2018.
We still need to understand the reasons for that.
We observed these “diaries”. 22 of 24 astronauts had one or more headache episodes during their spaceflight.. Headaches reported were almost all tension-type (90%), with the remainder being migraine.
On returning to earth, None of the astronauts who participated in this study reported any headache episodes.
At present only hypotheses have been raised about the causes of these headaches. Although more research is needed to verify the true causes of these disorders.
At this time It is important to distinguish the headache of the first week, which is due to the astronauts getting used to the weightlessness.In the following weeks, this may be due to the redistribution of body fluids, which can trigger intracranial pressure, pressure, and headaches.
