A new invention by a University of Colorado at Boulder professor may enable endurance atheletes living at low altitudes to train while they sleep. 
The 8-foot-long sleeping chamber imitates the reduced air pressure of high altitudes, stimulating the production of red blood cells for the person inside. The increase in blood cells boosts the body's ability to store oxygen in the blood and improves the athelete's aerobic capacity. 
"Some recent studies have documented the 'living high and training low' is the optimum strategy for the endurance athelete," said Igor Gamow, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering. "As far as I know, this is the only serious training device that will train you while you sleep." 
Gamow's sleeping chamber will enable an athelete training at sea level to gain the fitness advantage of living at high altitude. Atheletes who both live and train at high altitude (above 7,000 feet) cannot get as good a workout as they would at sea level because their bodies can't absorb enough oxygen from the thinner air, he said. 
Endurance atheletes ­ long distance runners, cross country skiers, swimmers and cyclists ­ all have high aerobic capacity. Aerobic capacity is the ability of the body to perform longer and harder before becoming fatigued. 
"If you do it (increase the blood's oxygen capacity) illegally, it's called blood doping," he said. "If you do it legally it's called sleeping at altitude." 
Recent research by the French and Japanese has shown that being at high altitude for as little as four hours a day stimulates a hormone, erythropoietin, that causes more red blood cells to be produced, Gamow said. Previously, researchers believed atheletes needed to stay at altitude much longer to gain a fitness advantage. 
It is well known among high-altitude physiologists that acclimatization to altitude lasts about two weeks, Gamow said. In recent years, Japanese and French climbers have spent a few hours a day in a high altitude chamber either in Tokyo or Paris before heading to the Andes or the Himalayas. 
The High Altitude Bed® is 31 inches in diameter and weighs about 200 lbs. It is designed to simulate altitudes of up to 18,000 feet and is equipped with a pad and sheets for sleeping. 
When a three-quarter horsepower vacuum pump draws air out of the chamber, a latchless plexiglass door on one end seals itself as the air pressure begins to drop. If an altimeter is placed inside the chamber, it begins to show a rise in altitude in about 15 seconds. 
A valve system invented by Gamow allows the chamber to simulate a variety of different altitudes and keeps the chamber at the desired altitude while continuously circulating fresh air to the person inside. The series of valves also provides backup in case a particular valve fails. 
To get out of the chamber, the person simply releases a valve to let in air pressure and the dorr pops open. If the pump were to fail, the door would release long before the oxygen was depleted. 
The only uncomfortable sensation for the person inside might be pressure in the ears, he said. But he noted that the chamber's probable range ­ 5,000 feet to 15,00 ­ is not much different from altitudes accessible by car in the United States. 
The fiberglass chamber must withstand major stresses similar to those of a submarine. For safety it was built to withstand pressures of up to negative 25 pounds per square inch, three times stronger than necessary. The chamber will be field tested in the spring and summer and possibly marketed in the fall, selling for between $8,000 and $10,000, he said. 
Gamow is also interested in studying the aerobic fitness of airline pilots, flight attendants and frequent fliers who spend a lot of time in an environment pressurized to about 8,000 feet, he said. Compared to people living at sea level, the fliers should have a higher aerobic capacity, he said. 
The hypobaric, or low pressure, chamber is the opposite of the Gamow Bag®, a portable hyperbaric, or high pressure, chamber also invented by Gamow. The bag has saved the lives of scores of mountain climbers by simulating lower altitudes. 
Gamow is no stranger to inventions dealing with human performance and altitude. In 1985 he constructed a pressurized bubble to simulate sea level in Boulder. The idea was that atheletes would use it for training while gaining the advantages of living at altitude. 
He has patented of has patents pending on the training chamber, the Gamow Bag®, a shallow underwater breathing apparatus and a springing shoe that returns energy to runners as they move. He also has experimented with a swim fin designed to allow humans to swim more efficiently like a dolphin. 
Gamow is the son of internationally famous physicist and former CU-Boulder Professor George Gamow, who developed the big bang theory of the universe, made lasting contributions to studies of the genetic code and popularizedphysics through dozens of books aimed at the layman. 
For more information on the High Altitude Bed® (303) 443-4938.  Also see:

Contact: Igor Gamow - (303) 443-4938 * Peter Caughey - (303) 492-4007