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phred14 t1_isy5b26 wrote

Reply to comment by HoTChOcLa1E in Is our sleep pattern based off the length of the day? by ebb5

I remember reading that at some point nuclear submarine crews were on an 18 hour day, and only the radio officer and captain were on 24 hour days. I had the opportunity to ask a crewman a year or so back and was told that was no longer the practice. But it sounds like it was.

I also once read that the people controlling Mars rovers lived on a 27 hour day. That may have stopped with the newer more autonomous rovers.

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ZyliesX t1_isy96l8 wrote

What do you mean by "18 hour day"? When the caption would hit hour 19 of day one, woukd that mean the crewmen would be on the first hour of day two? If so, what was the point?

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KamikazeRat t1_isycf1b wrote

Don't think about counting how many days have passed, more like its an 18 hour routine... instead of a 24 hour routine...instead of sleep for 8 hours then awake for 16, they would be asleep for 8 hours then be awake for 10, then start over. So from an outside perspective your wake-up time rotates.

I think the point was the keep sailors better rested... instead of potentially being awake for 16 hours and a bit groggy, the longest you should be awake (barring sleep disturbances) would be 10 hours. If the whole ship is rotating at this rate, its the same number of crewmen covering the same number of work shifts, but less chances of a sleepy mistake.... in theory

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desolation0 t1_isydy34 wrote

Wouldn't that run into increased shift handoff errors?

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mrbrinks t1_iszgotl wrote

Possibly. But theoretically the crew rotating out is a bit better rested, enabling them to transfer their duties for effectively.

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