A contest in Japan offered a prize of about 18.65 million won ($12,500) to whoever could sleep the best, drawing 47,000 applications as sleep deprivation emerges as a social issue.
Japanese Sleep 7 Hours 42 Minutes a Day; Koreans 6 Hours 58 Minutes
According to Japan's Mainichi Shimbun and other foreign media on the 20th, the event has drawn attention in Japan as an unusual way to highlight the importance of sleep.
In a 2021 survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Japanese people slept an average of 7 hours and 42 minutes a day, the shortest among the advanced economies surveyed.
The situation in South Korea is not much different. Koreans sleep an average of 6 hours and 58 minutes a day, according to the Korean Sleep Research Society's 2024 report on sleep patterns in Korea.
Only 7% said they sleep well every night. Psychological stress was the most cited obstacle to sleep at 62.5%, followed by physical fatigue at 49.8% and noise at 19.4%.
The number of people seeking medical treatment for sleep disorders is also rising. A total of 1,281,695 people received treatment for sleep disorders in South Korea last year, according to data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service released on Sept. 10 by Rep. Jung Chun-saeng of the Rebuilding Korea Party.
That is up 24.7% from 1,027,693 in 2021. In the first half of this year alone, 954,078 people were treated for sleep disorders.
With sleep deprivation emerging as a major health concern, Japan has turned to a sleeping competition to spread the message in an unconventional way.
700-to-1 Odds in Sleeping Contest, With 18.65 Million Won for the Winner
Koala, an Australian bedding and furniture brand, held the sleep contest, called Mat Race by Koala, in Tokyo's Aoyama district on the 5th.
The winner took home 2.22 million yen, or about 18.65 million won. The figure was inspired by "Zzz," the sound of sleeping.
About 47,000 people applied, putting the odds at more than 700 to 1, according to Mainichi Shimbun. The 65 finalists competed on the quality of their sleep in three 90-minute rounds in a single day.
Participants wore brainwave sensors on their foreheads and behind their ears. Organizers analyzed how long it took each person to fall asleep, along with the depth and stability of their sleep, to calculate a sleep score based on their own criteria.
Disruptions were also built into the competition. Three times during the rounds, organizers played the sound of a doorbell and a delivery driver's voice, or shone a mirror-ball light. Some participants woke up at the noise and light, while others slept through without reacting.
The winner was a 24-year-old woman from Musashimurayama, Tokyo. She said she had previously fallen asleep at a loud live music venue. She had worried about sleeping alongside strangers, she said, but barely noticed the three disruptions during the competition.
"I was confident about sleeping, but I never thought I would actually win," the winner said.
The contest also handed out special awards, including a "Deep Sleep Dive" prize for depth of sleep and a "Tossing and Turning Acrobat" prize for unusual sleeping postures.
Afromance, the creator who organized the event, said the goal was "to create an occasion for people to think about the importance of sleep through the unusual experience of sleeping and competing together."