The strangest competition in Japan.. She slept and won $14,000

As for her plan for the prize, it was also related to sleep: helping with moving costs to a new home and buying a new bed.

However, winning was not a reward for everyone who lay on a mattress and closed their eyes. Participants competed for a special competition score that combined the speed of falling asleep, sleep depth, and stability.

Confidence in sleeping did not eliminate the surprise

"Suimi" told the Japanese network "Fuji" that she was confident in her ability to sleep, but she did not expect to win, expressing her happiness with the result and her desire to have some time to rest.

Her win came after a huge turnout for participation; according to information announced by the organizers before the event, the number of applications exceeded 45,000, making securing a spot in the competition a challenge before the competition itself began.

On the mattresses, the competitors did not need to run or lift weights. The task was to sleep well, while devices recorded what happened during the specified period, and the rest was converted into a comparable result.

How does the competition measure the winner?

Participants wore sleep-tracking devices, and electrodes placed on the head recorded brain activity, according to Japanese coverage of the event.

The evaluation was based on elements including the time it took for a person to fall asleep, the depth of their sleep, and its stability, then the results were combined into a special competition score.

The official website explained that the competition was divided into three rounds, and that the person with the highest score among the participants in all rounds receives the first prize.

This means that the 90-minute duration was the competition time, and not evidence that the winner slept every minute of it, or that the length of sleep alone determined the result.