Sleeper agents wanted: Japan firm to pay people to snooze on the job
- Japanese snack company Calbee is hiring people to be part of its study on improving a person’s sleep pattern
- Five participants will be paid about US$369 each to join sleep experiment that will see researchers measure people’s brain waves over several nights
Calbee, which also makes Nyumin, an edible sleep-aid strip, began seeking candidates for the paid sleep research last week.
Successful applicants will take part in the “sleep performance improvement programme” led by Masashi Yanagisawa, a noted sleep researcher and professor at the University of Tsukuba’s International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine.
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Participants can sleep at their own homes while researchers measure their brain waves during the course of several nights, the Mainichi newspaper reported. Data on sleep quality and the study’s results will be shared on social media.
Five candidates will get 50,000 yen (US$369) each to join the experiment and an additional 50,000 yen will be paid to people who are able to improve their nap quality.
The Tokyo-based snack maker said its initiative will provide a way for people to challenge themselves to improve their sleep which has been a challenge for many during Covid-19.
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Almost half of the 13,628 respondents from 16 countries surveyed about long-lasting sleep symptoms following a Covid infection said they suffered from insomnia, according to findings published in the Journal of Sleep Research in October.
Health experts say lack of sleep can affect the immune system’s function and cause high blood pressure, among other disorders.
In 2020, Calbee launched its digestible orange-scented snooze-aid product containing crocetin, a chemical compound that has shown to boost sleep quality in clinical trials.
