Is this the best job in the world: Nasa recruits volunteers to spend 70 days in bed

Volunteers will be paid £3,000 a month to stay in bed for 24 hours a day

Nasa is recruiting willing volunteers to spend 70 days in bed for research on the effects of microgravity on the body (Nasa )

Not one for early mornings? Does the thought of an early exit from bed fill you with dread? Never fear - Nasa may have the dream (and well-paid) job for you.

The US space agency is seeking volunteers willing to lounge about whilst completing minimal activities in the comfort of a bed for a 70-day period.

Successful candidates for this job can expect to earn approximately £3,000 per month and will be expected to remain lying down for 24 hours a day.

Recruits are needed as part of Nasa's research into microgravity and the effect it may have on the human body. On their website, Nasa explain that the position held whilst lying in a bed is similar to the "head-down" tilt position many astronauts experience in a low gravity environment.

The study will aim to find ways of developing measures to counter the effects of reduced gravity experienced by those undertaking long duration space missions.

Nasa even have their own dedicated "bed rest" facility as part of their Flight Analog Research Unit (FARU) at the University of Texas Medical Branch, equipped with specialist beds that can be manipulated in order to reproduce the effects of various gravitational levels on the body.

Nasa said: "Of all the potential challenges crewmembers encounter in the space environment, microgravity has proven to be one of the most difficult to mimic in an experimental setting."

The bed rest study will "encompass multiple areas of focus", such as the musculoskeletal and psychological effects of spending extended periods of time in low gravity, they added.