“It should be standard practice in the medical profession to send a sickened very high altitude worker on a sleep study and put them onto high dose vitamin B12 injections for six months to see if they respond to it.” SleepStudyAstronomyOshaAltitudeMaunaKeaTmtTelescopeB12 Author:Steven Magee
“In 2017 at the age of 47 I was diagnosed with a rare and disabling sleep disorder called Ideopathic Hypersomnia. I had noticed the onset of the condition during extreme night shift work from 2003 to 2006 on the 13,796 feet very high altitude summit of Mauna Kea. After a few years of doctors visits for insomnia, fatigue, sleepiness and falling asleep at work, it was initially diagnosed as Shift Work Sleep Disorder in 2009 before being correctly diagnosed by a Multiple Sleep Latency Test several years later.” SleepAstronomyOshaAltitudeDisorderMaunaKeaTmtHypersomniaIdeopathic Author:Steven Magee
“I was sent for a sleep study in 2015 and they found that I have 9.9 arousals per hour and I stop breathing 31.9 times per hour during sleeping. They diagnosed Insomnia and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).” SleepAstronomyOshaAltitudeMaunaKeaTmtInsomniaApneaObstructive Author:Steven Magee
“A routine annual sleep study should really be required as part of their job description for astronomers and their nighttime support staff for early detection of sleep disorders and blood oxygenation issues.” SleepStudyBloodAstronomyOshaAltitudeMaunaKeaTmtOxygenation Author:Steven Magee
“Astronomers do not disclose to their nighttime support staff that they are at significant risk of developing shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) and the associated range of other sleep disorders.” WorkSleepAstronomyOshaAltitudeDisorderMaunaKeaTmtShift Author:Steven Magee
“I had noticed the onset of sickness that was consistent with sleep disorders and B12 deficiency during working extreme nights shifts at very high altitude atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii.” SleepAstronomyOshaAltitudeMaunaKeaTmtDeficiencyDisordersB12 Author:Steven Magee
“Research suggests that sea level adapted humans that work at the very high altitude 13,796 feet summit of Mauna Kea may eventually develop sleep apnea and fatigue from the low oxygen environment.” ScienceWorkSleepEnvironmentHumanResearchAstronomyAltitudeMaunaKea Author:Steven Magee
“The Mauna Kea night shift was an 18 hour night in wintertime at the 13,796 feet summit (before sunset to after sunrise) with insufficient time for adequate sleep before the next night shift. Night shift was between 5 and 8 nights long and we slept at 9,200 feet. We sat at a desk staring at four large computer monitors and a large cathode ray tube television. I would also use my Wi-Fi laptop computer. I would have extreme fatigue by the end of every night shift and have chapped lips which I now associate with exposure to the artificial light from the computer screens. A good day of sleep between shifts was rare and starting the next shift fatigued was normal.” LightNightTimeSleepTelevisionComputerLipsMaunaKeaArtificialDayAdequateFatigueSummitInsufficientRareShiftWintertimeExtremeWifiCrtScreenFatiguedMonitorDeskChapped Author:Steven Magee
“Don’t you just hate it when you are about to start construction on the 1.3 billion dollar world’s largest telescope when a highly experienced scientist publicly states that the project is biologically toxic to the workers.” HateSafetyAstronomyOshaMaunaKeaConstructionTmtTelescopeBillion Author:Steven Magee
“Every observatory summit office that I was based in had no windows in high altitude astronomy. My workdays were spent bathing in artificial florescent light.” LightAstronomyOshaAltitudeMaunaKeaArtificialTmtTelescopeFlorescent Author:Steven Magee
“High altitude observatories are commonly constructed with few to no windows, meaning that their staff are typically natural light deprived during their work day.” LightNaturalAstronomyOshaAltitudeMaunaKeaTmtDeprivedTelescope Author:Steven Magee
“I though that it was strange that people were changing gender in high altitude astronomy until I read Dr. John Nash Ott's books and his discussions about how he was changing the gender of plants and animals using distinctly different spectrum's of light from commercial lighting products. The spectrum of light at high altitudes is distinctly different to that at sea level.” LightGenderAstronomyOshaMaunaKeaTmtSpectrumJohnOtt Author:Steven Magee
“Ultraviolet light is a known carcinogen and can affect human health in many ways that are only just starting to be understood.” LightAstronomyOshaAltitudeMaunaKeaRadiationTmtUltravioletCarcinogen Author:Steven Magee
“Light and the human is poorly understood by the astronomical profession, with many astronomers not understanding which light bulbs they should have in their own homes and offices!” LightHumanAstronomyOshaAltitudeMaunaKeaTmtBulbsPoorly Author:Steven Magee