The Research and Development of the High Altitude Sleeping System: HASS :: Essays Papers

The Research and Development of the High Altitude Sleeping System: HASS Abstract Various negative physiological effects of sleeping at high elevations increase dramatically above 12,000 feet. These effects include dehydration, hypothermia, susceptibility to respiratory tract infection, high altitude sleep apnea, severe fatigue, and other ailments of varying severity. Until now, technology has done very little to address these problems. Working in the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Biological Altitude Testing Laboratory, undergraduate David de la Garza and I developed a High Altitude Sleeping System called HASS. HASS is a lightweight, inexpensive, and easy‑to‑use device that can drastically reduce or even prevent many of the maladies noted above. This project sets out the research, design, and fielding‑testing of a working prototype of HASS. What happens to the body when people breathe at higher elevations? On high mountains, the air is cold and completely dry. As inhaled air passes through the nose or mouth, it is warmed and humidified, sucking both heat and water from the body, and these are not recovered during exhalation. On the highest mountains where breathing is so greatly increased; this heat and water loss cannot be sustained for very long. Dehydration exaggerates the impacts of hypothermia and hypoxia. —Dr. Charles Houston, MD Why are these effects important, and what can we do about them? As the preceding quote attests, climbers (as well as other high altitude adventurers) risk hypothermia and hypoxia from the extreme cold, low humidity, and decreased air pressure. Furthermore, they risk impaired judgment and reflexes due to the effects of sleep apnea. All of these factors combined can greatly contribute to the danger involved in mountaineering or trekking. These symptoms are generally associated with or become very acute during sleep. However, technology has done little to improve sleeping environments for people at high altitude. Working in the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Biological Altitude Testing Laboratory, undergraduate David de la Garza and I developed a High Altitude Sleeping System called HASS. HASS is a lightweight, inexpensive, and easy‑to‑use device that can drastically reduce or even prevent many of the maladies noted above (especially when sleeping above 12,000 feet). Our goal was to research, design, and field‑test a working prototype of HASS that would alleviate these ailments by maintaining a sleeping climber’s lungs comfortably warm and hydrated while increasing her respiration rate throughout the night. How does HASS help with sleep? HASS is designed to reduce the overall stress placed on the human body while sleeping at high altitude.