Personal growth after a 90-day head-down tilt bed rest

Previous studies have shown that extreme environments such as simulated micro-gravity and prolonged immobility would cause psychological stress, and even lead to pathological diseases. However, personal growth brought about by extreme environments should be given equal importance. The present study aimed to understand positive personal growth of 36 volunteers who participated in the “Earth Star II” experiment, in which volunteers were bedridden at a low head of -6 degrees, lasted more than 130 days in Shenzhen. The Recovery-Stress Questionnaire (RESTQ) and the Post-Experience Change Inventory (PECI) adapted from the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory were used to measure the stress recovery states and the positive changes of volunteers. The results showed the Recovery-Stress balance of volunteers increased significantly and all of the volunteers reported a considerable degree of positive change, suggesting that positive personal growth happened to all volunteers after the experiment. In general, simulated microgravity environments not only have negative influence but might also bring personal growth to participants, indicating that long-term space missions psychological stress is not always dysfunctional for adaptation of astronauts but might also have positive psychological impacts.