As seen on NBC News Space By Elizabeth Howell updated 12/14/2012 6:50:29 PM ET
Astronaut John Glenn (right) gets bloodwork done in his bunk aboard space shuttle Discovery in 1998. About half of astronauts require sleep medication at some point during their flights, NASA said.
NASA plans a new weapon in the fight against space insomnia: high-tech light-emitting diodes to replace the fluorescent bulbs in the U.S. section of the International Space Station.
About half of everyone who flies to space relies on sleep medication, at some point, to get some rest. For $11.2 million, NASA hopes to use the science of light to reduce astronauts' dependency on drugs.
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