By Jane Elliott Health reporter, BBC News

Mike can spend months alone at sea

Next month sailor Mike Golding will be taking part in one of the world's toughest endurance challenges - the Velux 5 Oceans.

For about six months Mike and nine other sailors will race the 30,000 mile round the globe.

The race is billed as the 'Ultimate Solo challenge' and all accept that throughout the race the sailors are stretched to the limits physically and emotionally.

They can spend up to 50 days alone at sea.

Challenge

Recognising the uniqueness of the challenge, a group of scientists from Portsmouth University have teamed up with the race organisers Clipper Ventures PLC to study the skippers through every stage of the race.

They hope to use the results not only to evaluate each of the skippers, but also give advice on how they can improve and maintain their performances, as well as gaining an insight into the effects of such a gruelling challenge on the human body.

On average I get four-and-a-half hours a night, but during that time I am never sleeping more than 20 minutes, so that can make you more prone to accidents Mike Golding

Mike, who is taking part in his sixth round-the-world challenge, is no stranger to the problems that lie ahead.

"Physically it is extremely demanding. In my last really long solo challenge I remember that the last month in particular was pretty unrelenting.

"Unlike other sports you are competing 24/7, so you do get fit very quickly.

"One of the biggest risks you face is muscle strain. It becomes a balance doing what you have to do to be fast and trying to avoid injury."

Isolation

As well as the physical demands Mike says that spending long periods alone is gruelling for competitors, admitting that he is dreading having to spend too long away from his three-year-old son.

"As he gets older I am finding it a lot more tricky. I find it harder and harder to go away.

"My wife is a round the world sailor herself, so she understands the challenges. I will be speaking to her daily.

"We also have to watch our physical health. Because we are sailing, we have to cat nap.

The participants face tough challenges

"On average I get four-and-a-half hours a night, but during that time I am never sleeping more than 20 minutes, so that can make you more prone to accidents."

Mike says that endurance sailors like himself also have to consume about 6,000 to 7,000 calories of food a day to keep up their strength, something which can prove difficult, especially as their diet must be carefully balanced and can not be just quick chocolate bar fixes.

The physical endurance and extreme temperatures can also leave competitors dehydrated, while the salt water can cause skin sores.

Tests

Professor Mike Tipton, professor of Human and Applied Physiology at the University of Portsmouth, says sailors would have detailed tests in the ports of Bilbao in Spain, Freemantle in Australia, and Norfolk in the US.

The tests will take place on arrival and before departure.

The sailors will also self-test at sea every three days.

The study will look at four main areas:

Professor Tipton says that the study promised to yield fascinating data.

"The individual skippers participating vary in age, height, weight and nationality, and will all operate under unique conditions, so the research will reveal a great deal about the impact of solo ocean racing across a very varied group of individuals.

"Most people when they think of sailing are thinking of a trip round the Isle of Wight, but these are people who are undergoing great deprivation and isolation and hopefully these tests will give us an insight into the qualities that are needed for this sort of endurance."