If you're a "fussy sleeper," a mattress review company might have a dream side-gig for you.
The company, Sleep Junkie, is seeking a "self-confessed insomniac" to test out sleeping "apps, pillows, eye masks and bedding." Over the course of the two-month gig, the chosen applicant will try eight different products, each for a week at a time. Then, they'll complete a review on whether or not they noticed differences in the quality and quantity of their sleep.
Each review form will take approximately one hour to complete, the company says, and the selected sleeper will be paid a total of $2,000. That breaks down to $250 an hour, over the course of the eight weeks. Sleep Junkie says it will then use your data to "curate the ultimate sleep guide for troubled sleepers worldwide."
The job application requires a 150-word explanation of why you think you're a perfect fit for the role. According to the job listing, candidates must be bona fide toss-and-turners – sound sleepers need not apply.
"We believe that everyone is entitled to and can achieve a restful night's sleep," Dorothy Chambers, a so-called sleep expert at Sleep Junkie, said in a statement. "Our hope is that by recruiting someone with poor sleep history, we can help them find peace at night, whilst they help us gather useful information we can share with others."
Given the ongoing spread of Covid, the timing of this opportunity may be ideal: A February 2021 analysis published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found 40% of people have suffered from sleep problems since the pandemic started.
But beware: Testing new products could potentially make your sleep even worse and lead to painful side effects during your waking hours. For example, using pillows with sub-optimal height or thickness can cause neck and back pain, Timothy Morgenthaler, co-director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, told the Seattle Times in last month.
Side sleepers should use pillows that are roughly 7-10 centimeters tall, or "sufficiently thick so that your neck is in a more neutral-type position," Morgenthaler said. Back and stomach sleepers, however, should avoid thick pillows, as they "[tend] to kind of flex your neck forward, and that may put undue stress on parts of the cervical spine and discs and muscles."
For anyone willing to take the risk, Sleep Junkie's applications close on February 14. Candidates must be at least 21 years old and available to start on February 28. You also need to own a smartphone that is "compatible with sleep tracking apps."
The company says it hopes to publish the selected insomniac's reviews in a study ahead of World Sleep Day, which is on March 18.
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