Brief Published (Dubai time, UTC+4) · event date: 2026-10-05
Japan, a country where sleep deprivation is a major public health issue, held its first competitive sleep contest on Monday in Tokyo, reports France 24.
The contest, named “Matt Race,” brought together dozens of participants equipped with sleep tracking devices. They lay down on comfortable mattresses to sleep for up to 90 minutes, hoping to win the first prize of more than two million yen (approximately 14,000 dollars).
The initiative aims to encourage Japanese people to sleep longer, as the country has the shortest average sleep duration among OECD members.
