Sometimes a good night’s sleep can give you more than a fresh start to the day. For Jiniya Chatterjee from Mumbai, it brought ₹9.6 lakh and a sponsored vacation.She was named the winner of the fifth season of Wakefit’s Sleep Internship, a two-month contest that brought together 10 participants from across India.But earning money purely for sleeping sounds bizarre, right?But sleeping is not just limited to taking rest; activities like this are now used to track sleep patterns and improve daily scores.Here’s how the competition worked and how Jiniya emerged at the top.
Mumbai’s Jiniya Chatterjee wins ₹9.6 lakh in a fitness brand’s sleep internship
Sleeping well just earned a woman from Mumbai ₹9.6 lakh and a holiday. According to Aaj Tak, Jiniya Chatterjee was named the winner of the fifth Sleep Internship, run by mattress and sleep-products company Wakefit. Besides the cash, she received a sponsored vacation. The competition lasted two months and drew participants from across India. Wakefit’s own website describes her as a singer, performer and entrepreneur who fiercely protects her bedtime.
What is the idea behind the internship?
More than 2 lakh people applied this season, and 10 were selected. For 60 days, they tracked their sleep, kept a regular routine and took on weekly challenges to climb the leaderboard. Wakefit’s terms say each intern gets ₹1 lakh for completing the programme, while the winner can receive up to ₹10 lakh plus a vacation. To be eligible, applicants must be at least 22 years old, and Jiniya’s ₹9.6 lakh falls inside that limit.
The weekly tasks were not only about sleeping
The participants were also tested for their creativity. In Sleep Cinema, participants recreated scenes from popular films with a sleep twist. Sleep Bingo asked them to review their sleeping habits over a week. In the Undercover Sleep Mission, they had to say “blanket” or “pillow” ten times in a conversation without anyone noticing. Each week’s best performer was named Pro Sleeper of the Week.After 60 days, Ratnagiri Manikandan, Jiniya Chatterjee and Mehek Khot emerged as the top three; apart from that, Karim Khan from Hyderabad joined them as a wildcard entry after winning the most weekly creative challenges. That made four finalists for the grand finale, called Big Bedd, which followed the format of a reality show.
The finale mixed games with the real test
In the Memory Foam Challenge, contestants rebuilt a bedroom setup from reference images, testing memory, observation and teamwork. In the Sleep Auction, they bid for what they needed to build their sleeping space, including pillows, blankets, air-conditioning settings, lighting and sound. It was like reality television, with contestants moving from one task to the next before finally heading to bed. Their sleep scores from that last night then played an important role in choosing the winner.
Prize money has crept up over the years
Wakefit’s earlier announcement notes that last year’s champion, Pooja Madhav Wavhal from Pune, won ₹9.1 lakh in Season 4. According to MediaInfoline, Wakefit co-founder Chaitanya Ramalingegowda said that after five seasons, people’s enthusiasm for “making sleep a priority” keeps amazing the company.