Waiting to stand

This bedrest volunteer will spend three weeks in bed with his body tilted 6° below the horizontal. He may not stand up unless an experiment demands it and must perform all daily activities in bed, including eating, showering and exercising.

Not only are the volunteers in this study expected to give up small pieces of their thigh muscles in regular biopsies, but they also have to remove themselves from their normal lives three times over the course of the year. During their time in bed, they cannot receive visitors and are expected to complete the session no matter what emergency at home.

Bedrest studies can answer questions on how our bodies adapt to living in space and adapt to growing old.