NASA Bed Rest Study
60 days of relaxation. You love to sleep? If so, NASA is looking for you!
Can you imagine this? NASA (as in US National Aeronautics & Space Administration) is seeking people willing to stay in bed for 60 days and get paid for it! (I will save the amount until the end of this column, so you may focus on the conditions first and not only on the money.)
When a teaching colleague at school announced the above information last week, people went wild. Everyone was interested in getting on the bandwagon. Just think of it! For those who struggle to get out of bed in the morning, doesn’t this sound like a dream-come-true? Maybe it could be for you, too?
First the facts: this is not a hoax .Itisa genuine study called the AGBRESA (Artificial Gravity Bed Rest Study) and is being conducted by NASA and the European Space Agency. Its purpose is to collect data that will eventually help astronauts maintain their health in space.
Do you think this might be something you’d like to do? You could stay in bed all day long. What luxury! How would you keep busy? Well, you could read, read and read some more. Watch movies and play online games, of course. Inform yourself in depth about current events. Buff up on your history. Or how about learning a foreign language? Or taking up meditation? Listening to music would be a diversion ,of course. Contemplating on your life’s goals would be another. The possibilities are endless, really. Plus, you would know that you were making a contribution to the space program and you might even get to meet a real-life astronaut, if you’re lucky. How awesome would that be!
What could be the downsides? One is that the study is taking place in Cologne, Germany. This means that your family and friends could probably not easily visit you and hopefully distract you from your predicament. Of course, all forms of social media would help out with that. Then, you would have to remain in a horizontal position for a full 60 days. Your head would be tilted slightly downward (by 6 degrees) from the rest of your body. Eating in this position might prove challenging ,orat least I imagine it so. All bodily functions would take place in a horizontal position (meaning the use of a bedpan and bottle not very pleasant, but unavoidable). Even showering is done while lying down - NASA has developed a special bed for this. Another requirement is that you must speak German - which should be no problem in your case, dear readers! An additional hitch is that you will have many, many medical tests performed on your body - data about your bones, muscles, circulatory system, nervous and immune systems will be recorded. You will have to endure being put into a centrifuge and rotated for 30 minutes per day, to simulate conditions in deep space. Think of it as a ride at an amusement park or funfair.
Still interested? Well, hold on to your horses because now comes the best part. NASA is paying participants close to €17,000 for these two months in bed! See their website to apply for the September intake. If you miss the deadline, there will surely be another chance. A similar study was already conducted in 2017 and all participants survived without any lasting negative side-effects. If you are chosen for the study, I expect to get a 10% cut for my assistance and encouragement! Just joking, of course. Indeed, anyone who can really survive the full 60 days of bed rest deserves every penny earned, don’t you agree?