Scientists in France are looking for 24 volunteers known as "pillownauts" for doing essentially nothing in bed for 60 days.

According to the Daily Mail, researchers at the Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology in Toulouse, France (Medes) are offering to pay 'pillownauts' to sleep for a study.

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The study aims to simulate conditions on the international space station by observing the impact of microgravity or the state of virtual weightlessness. They hope to find out some of the negative effects of prolonged periods in space and find remedies.

The pillownauts can earn  €16,000 or $17,000. In order to be considered, they must be healthy men aged 20 to 45, engaged in regular sports, do not smoke, do not have allergies or food restrictions. Moreover, their body mass index must be between 22 and 27.

'In certain conditions, the cardiovascular system is affected and is not capable of making the same effort as before the experiment. We even see a greater tendency to drops in blood pressure and vertigo," study coordinator Dr Arnaud Beck told the France's 20 minutes.

During the 60-day study period, the pillownauts will have to eat and perform all bodily functions in bed. According to the Daily Mail, some of the challenges faced by the study include eating, washing and going to the toilet while lying down. Dr Beck explained that at least one shoulder is in contact with the bed or stretcher. Volunteers, however, "absolutely must stay permanently lying down".

This is not the first time that Medes Institute is conducting a bedrest study. In 2013, a group of scientists from the institution hired some pillownauts to spend about nine weeks in bed. Participants underwent regular biopsies from their thigh muscles to determine the effect of weightlessness on muscle tissue.