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Get Paid to Sleep: NASA Offering $18000 for Volunteers

By Cheri Cheng | Update Date: Sep 20, 2013 04:05 PM EDT

For people who love to sleep, NASA will offer $18,000 for people to sleep in one of their experiments. As enticing as this offer sounds, it does come with a few requirements. For the sake of research, participants will have to sleep for 70 days straight at a six-degree angle. After the entire sleeping project is finish, the participants can earn up 18 grand.

NASA's study aims to test how astronauts' bodies work in space. Due to the fact that there is zero gravity in space, the researchers are interested to see what that does to the body. In this experiment, the researchers will observe for any physical changes. The researchers will also focus on the amount of energy that is released by an astronaut during specific tasks. In order to study this, NASA will have participants stay at a specific angle. This tilt will allow the fluids in the body to flow towards the upper regions. This would help researchers study how that position and posture contributes to cardiovascular symptoms.

The participants will have to remain in bed rest at NASA's Flight Analogs Research Unit (FARU) at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. The experiment is designed to incorporate two groups. One group will be required to live at the facility for 105 days and carry out resistance and aerobic exercises. The other group's stay will last 97 days and will not include any forms of exercise. The researchers will collect information on the participants' bones, muscles, heart and circulatory systems, nervous systems, immune system and nutritional conditions. There will be showers and bathrooms provided for the participants. After the 70-days mark, the participants will start to revert back to normal physical activity while still remaining under observation.

The researchers warn volunteers that there might be some health risks involved. These risks could include skin problems and psychological issues. However, the researchers believe that since they are recruiting healthy individuals, the recovery process will be swift.

Participants that qualify must be healthy, physically in shape and non-smokers. For each week completed, NASA will pay $1,200. The study is expected to last up to 15 weeks. NASA hopes that the data could help create new methods that allow astronauts to adapt back to regular life once they return home. For more information, click here.

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