How do astronauts sleep when they float?

Snuggle down and feel your bed under you. Your pillow holds your head. Your blanket lies soft and warm on top. Your bed keeps you in one cozy place all night.

Far above us, astronauts live in space. Up there, they float like bubbles in the air. They get sleepy at night too. So how do astronauts sleep when they float?

Astronauts live on a space station, a big home that flies around the Earth. Inside, nothing stays down. A cup floats, a spoon floats, and a person floats too. A bed would not help, because an astronaut would drift right off it.

At bedtime, each astronaut goes to a cabin, which means a tiny room just for one person. The cabin is about as big as a cupboard. Inside it, the astronaut has a quiet, dark place to rest.

In the cabin waits a sleeping bag. The astronaut wiggles inside and zips it up, snug as a hug. But a sleeping bag can float too! What do you think keeps it from drifting away?

Straps hold the sleeping bag to the wall. They keep it snug and still, so it cannot float away. Now the astronaut stays in one place, all through the night.

Inside the bag, an astronaut's arms want to float up in front. Many astronauts tuck their arms into the bag. There, their arms stay warm and still.

Then the astronaut closes both eyes. Softly, the astronaut falls asleep, far above the Earth.

Astronauts zip into sleeping bags strapped to their cabin wall, so they cannot float away. That way, each astronaut stays in one place all night.

High above the Earth, the space station flies on through the dark. In each tiny cabin, a sleeping bag hangs quietly on its wall. Inside, an astronaut sleeps, warm and cozy.