Sunburns. Human skin generates Vitamin D out of UV damages to it, which plays roles in hair and nails but also in maintaining healthy thoughts somehow.

Apparently kids in arctic regions receive “sunbathing” sessions in a dark room with UV lamps for this reason. I’ve been thinking to replicate it but haven’t been able to find much technicalities in it...

I didn't have much trouble adapting to underway conditions. But then I've always been somewhat introverted and love hunching over a desk doing projects. Underway was just a bit tighter spaces, flourescent only. Like knowing you were going into a really weirdly laid out half industrial half office space and you just weren't leaving for a while.

(I was lucky enough to be in a rating where I was on periscope every now and again, so I had that bit of extra 'view'.)

> PS4

I am pretty sure they have video games in a submarine these days.

Actually submarine fleet gets a bit better food than the rest. Toward the end of a long underway, things can get a bit odd, but I was never truly disappointed in the food.

You find other escapes - I bought my own laptop at the Exchange and taught myself Linux from the install CD up on one deployment.

If you're senior enough, you get your own rack. Perks :)

And once you're off watch, there's routine to do but after that you have your own music, games if you like, movie nights (voting gets weird sometimes), read, we even made up a Stellar Conquest type game once, played out on paper, one turn per watch rotation.

The family thing could be a big deal but I was already pretty estranged from my very small number of relatives, so wasn't much for me.

YMMV.