CLEVELAND -- Ever have one of those days when you just don't feel like getting out of bed?

One man was in bed for weeks -- but not because he's lazy. Instead, Stephen Snitzky has been resting in the name of science.

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic are studying bone loss and muscle atrophy that may someday help astronauts on long-duration missions. The hospital has teamed up with NASA to help stop bone loss during space travel, reported WEWS-TV in Cleveland.

Space travel takes a toll on astronauts' bodies, in particular on their bones. Astronauts who have been on the space station for 4 to 6 months are losing bone mass 10 times faster than post-menopausal women, said Peter Cavanagh, of the Cleveland Clinic.

Snitzky's feet touched the ground Monday after being in bed for 12 straight weeks.

Snitzky and one other volunteer were confined to their beds 24 hours a day, with their heads constantly tilted down six degrees, mimicking weightlessness.

For 20 minutes each day, Snitzky was suspended in midair by bungee cords.

"It's a lot of fun," Snitzky said. "It's just like floating."

The other volunteer, also suspended, exercised on a wall-mounted treadmill.

Researchers are already learning that exercising helps prevent bone loss. That is important because once space travel advances to Mars, astronauts would be put in a very serious health situation because the trip would be the longest ever attempted by NASA.

Snitzky said his time in bed gave him a chance to read 29 books and watch 25 movies. He said he also played about 1,000 hands of solitaire.

Snitzky said lying around all the time wasn't the hardest party of participating in the study.

"Believe it or not, the toughest thing was the diet," said Snitzky. "It was a metabolic diet. It's very controlled about what you can and cannot eat. It was tough knowing that I couldn't eat what I wanted to eat; I had to eat what was there."

The clinic is now looking for 22 more people willing to lie around for three months for the sake of science. If you're interested, contact the Cleveland Clinic.