NASA Will Pay You $18,000 To Stay in Bed For 70 Straight Days

[Suzanimal]

Sounds like a sweet gig...

Usually at some point in the day (and for some of us, multiple points) many of us find ourselves wishing we could abandon our responsibilities to return back to our beds to live out the rest of the day under a quiet refuge of blankets. Despite the guilt of chronic laziness, a day in bed sounds pretty darn relaxing—if only we could financially support ourselves by doing so.

Turns out, NASA might have the answer we’re all looking for—although it might require a little more relaxation than originally imagined. NASA is currently looking for volunteers to participate in their “Bed Rest Studies”, in which participants will have to spend 70 straight days in bed, receiving $18,000 for the period of aggressive bodily atrophy. Participants are allowed to read books, Skype, play games, as well as use their phones and computers throughout the duration of the study. Pretty much anything is fair game, so long as you remain in bed, earning a cool $1,200 per week.

So what are the exact purposes of these studies? The experiments are designed to find ways of preserving astronauts’ health and safety during periods of extended space travel. “Head down” bed rest is a good way of simulating travel through zero gravity space. Think about it, zero gravity means zero weight or strain on your muscles. It’s a more accessible way of analyzing the bodily changes that occur during space travel. This study is designed to achieve three core tasks: 1) Understanding how one’s changing physiology in space may affect the process of certain missions. 2) Understanding the impact of one’s physiological state on their ability to perform in particular tasks. 3) Preparing countermeasures to combat any impairment that these physiological conditions may impose. Within the experiment there are two study groups: exercising and non-exercising. While the exercising group will be subject to exercise training (on special equipment to maintain the laying down position), the non-exercising group will remain completely at ease. The entire duration of the study actually lasts between 97 and 105 days, depending on whether you’re a non-exercising or an exercising subject, respectively.

For the first 13 days for non-exercising subjects and 21 days for exercising subjects, you’re able to move freely (in and out of bed) within the bed rest facility. However, after this period you will be prohibited from leaving the bed for the next 70 days, aside from a few specified tests, where you must lay with your head back and feet up. Throughout the entire duration of the study, you will be subject to bone, muscle and heart tests, as well as tests of your circulatory and nervous systems, your nutritional condition, and your body’s capacity to fight off infections. So is it worth it? Although spending two months in bed would realistically be excruciating, at least you can rest easily knowing you’re making the sacrifice of grueling laziness for the purpose of furthering human space exploration. This is the only time you could claim to have helped send the first astronauts to Mars by doing absolutely nothing but sitting on your ass.

http://earthweareone.com/nasa-will-p...straight-days/

[jmdrake]

Where do I sign up?

[jmdrake]

Never mind. That doesn't look like fun.



But still....the money is tempting.

[phill4paul]

Never mind. That doesn't look like fun.



But still....the money is tempting.

$250 bucks a day? I dunno................
Not really for me. But for some that's a quick way outta debt.

[TaftFan]

I can't do that to my body.

[brushfire]

Where's Morgan Spurlock? Its only 10 days over the original format.

[presence]

been nursing this bad elbow twice that long... hit me

[brushfire]

been nursing this bad elbow twice that long... hit me

[opal]

ya know.. the gig doesn't sound that bad.. worse gig.. whomever has to deal with all the bedpans.
That's a long time though.. dunno who I'd trust with my cats.. no, I'm not the crazy old cat lady.. yet

[Carlybee]

I suggest compression stockings

[Christian Liberty]

How to go to the bathroom????

This actually sounds pretty awful, to be honest. I'd hate it.

[Carlybee]

How to go to the bathroom????

This actually sounds pretty awful, to be honest. I'd hate it.

I couldn't do it. I got out of bed after surgery and tried to leave, lol.

[Suzanimal]

How to go to the bathroom????

This actually sounds pretty awful, to be honest. I'd hate it.

Depends?

This would be the deal breaker for me.

you must lay with your head back and feet up

I'm a stomach sleeper, no way I could lay like that for 70 days.

[Ronin Truth]

Do coma patients qualify?

[donnay]

Nah...I cannot sit still 70 minutes let alone 70 days!

[Suzanimal]

Nah...I cannot sit still 70 minutes let alone 70 days!

Damn overachievers, always making the rest of us look bad.

[osan]

Sounds like a sweet gig...

You kidding? I would not do that if they put another zero at the correct end.

Any idea of what 70 days in bed would do to your health?

The lengths to which human stupidity and avarice drive their decision making process never ceases to amaze me.

I *might* do it at 100x that rate, and not even sure about that.

[Suzanimal]

You kidding? I would not do that if they put another zero at the correct end.

Any idea of what 70 days in bed would do to your health?

The lengths to which human stupidity and avarice drive their decision making process never ceases to amaze me.

I *might* do it at 100x that rate, and not even sure about that.

Yes, I was kidding. I'm not that stupid.

[Fox McCloud]

Dare I even ask about going to the bathroom?

This is an interesting study, but it's definitely not without its risks, and it's not going to be fun after the study is over and you're weak as hell. No matter how sedentary you think you are, you still move around a LOT, and by the time this is all over, you're going to have trouble walking and picking things up. Essentially you're giving up a third of a year of your life (with a few risks) for $18K. Not saying it's a bad deal, but...this could potentially be very boring.

edit: did a little research; yup, you even have to use the bathroom in your bed---and the reading books+computer thing? That's not while partially sitting up; that's still lying completely on your back.

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

If I sign up, do I still get my welfare check?

[opal]

ok..in bed is one thing but only on your back? do they strap you down so you don't assume the fetal position in your sleep? does someone do sponge baths? How are the linens changed?.. esp with that whole bathroom/bed pan situation
premise flaw too..volunteer to me is an unpaid gig.. paying makes you an employee or contractor
fails all around

[Suzanimal]

NASA Paid This Guy $18,000 To Lie In A Bed For 70 Days

Would you take $18,000 (£11,700) to stay bed-ridden for 70 days straight? And we mean bed-ridden; you must remain horizontal at all times (yes, even when going to the toilet), enduring all the physical pain that involves.

Well, last year, NASA paid about 50 volunteers to do just that, to learn how muscle and bone would deteriorate in such conditions. The research may be useful for lengthy space missions in the future, such as trips to Mars.

One of those volunteers, Drew Iwanicki, spoke to NextShark about his experience. In the interview about the study, called CFT 70 (Countermeasure and Functional Testing in Head-Down Tilt Bed Rest Study), Iwanicki said that he first heard about the opportunity in a post on Reddit in 2013. After signing up, he was chosen out of a pool of 25,000 applicants to undertake the study in November 2014.

In the interview, he explained how he was monitored 24/7, while he also had to follow an extremely strict diet that kept his weight at 90 kilograms (200 pounds). He wasn’t even allowed to sit up to make eye contact with his girlfriend when she visited, and he had to relieve himself in a “pee jug” and a bedpan while lying down.

“I was on a regimented sleep schedule,” he told NextShark. "Lights out at 10 p.m., lights on at 6 a.m. No napping allowed during the day, which is one of the cruelest jokes about being stuck in bed all day, not being able to nap.”

There was some respite: He was allowed to prop himself up on his hands and elbows for 30 minutes to eat his food, before having to lie down again. And he had a laptop, held in a bracket above his bed, and books to keep him entertained. Some light exercise was also thrown in.

After tax, he said he earned about $13,000 (£8,500) in total. Alongside the 70 in which he was bed-ridden, 38 days were also added for pre- and post-bed rest periods, when he went through a number of tests.

All in all, that’s about $170 (£110) a day to lie in a bed, and be prodded and probed. Worth a shot?

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and...ie-bed-70-days

[Voluntarist]

xxxxx

[The Northbreather]

I wish I didn't have fierce morning wood

[TheTexan]

At the risk of sending this thread to Hot Topics:

That's the deal breaker right there. Its also gonna skew the results of their study, cus astronauts get a lot of ass and only people who volunteer for this is those that, well, dont

Though it would be nice to earn double paychecks for those who work from home

[Danke]

He pooped lying down?

[osan]

...does someone do sponge baths?

Oh well now isn't this just great. I was all happy with my decision to tell NASA to pound salt up their space-stations and you have to inject ideas into the discussion. Now I am having visions of scantily clad nubile nurses sponge bathing me as I stare and their enormous flibnippys, and getting all worked up and $#@!.

You bastard.

[Christian Liberty]

I would never do this

[RonPaulIsGreat]

I could do this if you could move on your side or belly whenever you wanted but on your back the whole time. I'd attempt it for 250K. I may be able to do it.