Sleep your way to ₹9.6 lakh: How Mumbai woman won Wakefit's unusual contest

What if you could earn lakhs of rupees simply by sleeping well? For Jiniya Chatterjee from Mumbai, that unusual opportunity turned into a big win. She has been named the winner of the fifth season of Wakefit's Sleep Internship, taking home ₹9.6 lakh and a sponsored holiday.

The two-month competition brought together 10 participants from across India, who had to track their sleep, follow a regular routine and complete fun challenges to win the title.

How did the sleep internship work?

More than 2 lakh people applied for this season, but only 10 made the cut. Over 60 days, participants monitored their sleep patterns and tried to maintain healthy sleeping habits while competing in weekly tasks.

But it was not just about spending hours in bed. The organisers also tested their creativity through activities such as Sleep Cinema, in which contestants recreated popular film scenes with a sleep-related twist.

Another task, Sleep Bingo, asked them to review their sleeping habits, while the Undercover Sleep Mission challenged them to use the words "blanket" or "pillow" 10 times in a conversation without anyone noticing.

The best performer each week earned the title of Pro Sleeper of the Week.

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A reality-show-style finale

After the two-month contest, Ratnagiri Manikandan, Jiniya Chatterjee and Mehek Khot emerged as the top three. Karim Khan from Hyderabad also entered the final round as a wildcard after winning the most weekly creative challenges.

The four finalists then competed in the grand finale, called Big Bedd, which featured a series of games.

In the Memory Foam Challenge, they had to recreate a bedroom setup using reference images, testing their memory and observation skills. The Sleep Auction required them to bid for items such as pillows, blankets, lighting and air-conditioning settings to build their sleeping spaces.

Their sleep scores from the final night also played an important role in deciding the winner.

Wakefit's Sleep Internship has increased its prize money over the years. In the previous season, Pune's Pooja Madhav Wavhal won ₹9.1 lakh.

Wakefit co-founder Chaitanya Ramalingegowda said the enthusiasm around the competition and the idea of "making sleep a priority" continued to amaze the company.