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Astronauts suffer considerable sleep deficiency in the weeks leading up to and during space flight, a new research has found. 

The study recorded 64 astronauts' 4,000 nights of sleep on Earth, and more than 4,200 nights in space on 80 shuttle missions. 

The 10-year study is the largest study of sleep during space flight ever conducted, the press release added. 

According to the study more countermeasures to promote sleep during space flights are needed in order to optimize human performance. 

"Sleep deficiency is pervasive among crew members," said Laura K. Barger, PhD, associate physiologist in the BWH Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, and lead study author, in the press release. "It's clear that more effective measures are needed to promote adequate sleep in crew members, both during training and space flight, as sleep deficiency has been associated with performance decrements in numerous laboratory and field-based studies."

According to the study, despite NASA scheduling 8.5 hours of sleep per night for crew members in space flight, the average (mean) duration of sleep during space flight was 5.96 hours on shuttle missions and 6.09 hours on ISS missions. 

The study added that the astronauts' build-up of sleep deficiency began long before launch. 

The study, highlighting the widespread use of sleep medications during missions, found that three-quarters of ISS crew members took sleep medication at some point during their time on the space station, and more than three-quarters (78 percent) of shuttle-mission crew members used medication on more than half (52 percent) of nights in space. 

"The ability for a crew member to optimally perform if awakened from sleep by an emergency alarm may be jeopardized by the use of sleep-promoting pharmaceuticals," said Barger. "Routine use of such medications by crew members operating spacecraft are of particular concern, given the U. S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) warning that patients using sleeping pills should be cautioned against engaging in hazardous occupations requiring complete mental alertness or motor coordination, including potential impairment of performance of such activities that may occur the day following ingestion of sedative/hypnotics. This consideration is especially important because all crew members on a given mission may be under the influence of a sleep promoting medication at the same time."

The study has been published in the journal The Lancet Neurology.