Bed bucks

It pays not to sleep.

The 2019 Netflix show “Awake: The Million Dollar Game” offered prize money to any one of eight contestants who could outlast the others in doing physical and mental challenges while staying awake for 24 hours.

No one ever won the $1 million grand prize because the show was short-lived. Contestant Ben Thomas, however, managed to take home $191,843 in his episode by guessing the number of coins he counted while not sleeping, within a $500 margin of error, and then claiming all the other players’ coins by guessing their value within a $25 margin.

In Japan, it was the other way around in a contest for the fastest sleeper and the highest quality of sleep.

Mattress company Koala Sleep Japan held the Matt Race in Tokyo on 5 October. Organizers strapped sleep-tracking devices on dozens of contestants lying on beds to measure the quality of their 90-minute sleep.

A woman nicknamed Suimii was declared the winner, taking home over two million yen or 11,000 euros, according to Japan Today.

Suimii said she would use the money to move so she could live independently.

“I also want a bed like a princess’, so I think I’ll buy that bed,” she added, Japan Today reported.