Koala JP to host sleep competition in Tokyo with $15,000 prize

The mattress company Koala JP has announced a unique marketing event titled ‘Mattrace by Koala,’ a sleep competition scheduled to take place on October 5, 2026, in Minami Aoyama, Tokyo.

Sixty participants will compete to achieve the highest sleep quality score over a 90-minute period while sleeping on Koala mattresses. To determine the winner, participants will wear monitoring devices to measure sleep depth, stability, and the time taken to fall asleep. The scoring system is being developed under medical supervision.

The competition includes unexpected disturbances designed to test the participants' ability to remain asleep under various conditions. To ensure fairness, contestants must be at least 20 years old and are prohibited from using sleep aids or intentionally inducing sleep deprivation. The grand prize for the highest scorer is 2.22 million yen, approximately $15,000 USD.