Wanted: People to lie in bed for 70 days for £12K

CALLING all couch potatoes! Nasa is offering to pay people up to £12,000 to lie in bed for 70 days.

The American space agency is looking for participants to take part in a ‘bed rest’ study where they would lie horizontally for 70 days, even when washing and going to the toilet.

Successful applicants will be paid up to $18,000 (£12,200) but it won’t all be plain sailing.

The only way to relieve and clean yourself would be by using a plastic bedpan and washing with a hand-held shower-head while still horizontal.

It is thought that participants may also experience a degree of back and neck pain from constantly lying down.

Scientists behind the study are trying to gauge how effective exercise would be for astronauts who lose muscle, cardiovascular and bone function while in zero-gravity conditions.

Participants will stay in a bed with their head tilted slightly backwards with their legs in the air for 10 weeks before a 14-day period of squatting, cycling and walking in the same horizontal position.

Regular tests will hopefully be able to tell scientists if regular exercise helps the body adapt back to its normal state.

The only catch: you have to be a US citizen or permanent resident to take part in this particular research project.