Whether it is a work call, exams, financial crisis, a new Netflix series, sleep is the only factor that is compromised, says Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-founder, Wakefit.co, a start-up that not only provides pillows and mattresses but also provides solutions for a good sleep. Now, they are offering sleep internship - sleep on the job. You can also apply and be part of their internship for their upcoming 2020 batch.
When we asked him the reason behind launching this sleep internship, he explains, "Wakefit.co collected data from 2016-2018 on sleep patterns and sleep-related issues in India. We are one of the few companies who thought that we must build a database on the sleep patterns in India. Until then, there was no such study done for India. In over two years, we collected data from over 27,000 respondents from which we realised that people don't take sleep seriously. What everybody celebrates is people who sleep less and are working all the time. Gone are those days where we celebrated a good sleep which can have a positive impact on relationships, work and health. Nobody talks about it anymore. We want to bring this culture of good sleep back and it can't be in a boring way. So what better than offering it in the form of an internship."
This is not the first time that Wakefit.co has done a campaign for good sleep. In 2017, they did another campaign where they sent sleep mattress to PM Modi's office. Chaitanya says, "We had collected all kinds of messages from people across India for PM Modi. These messages were on the lines of 'sleep mattresses for everyone irrespective of religion, caste, race and gender to show that India must be united'. Another message was to tell our PM that he has to sleep for a good amount of time because they had had heard that he works for long hours without a holiday and so on. We collected over 1,000 messages and sent them along with the mattress. Though we did not get any response from his office but the kind of messages we received from people were meaningful."
Chaitanya believes that one must not stigmatise people who say that they love to sleep rather celebrate them. Because sleeping is not a bad cause. He says, "Those who love sleeping can be part of this internship and earn money for it. What better way to celebrate sleep for those who are passionate about it. Sleeping for nine hours, seven days in a week and 100 days of internship might sound easy but it is difficult as there are many distractions. Hence, they have set certain requirements for the candidates."
Eligibility to participate
Basically, the company is looking for those who can sleep well and have a passion for it. Apart from this, there are a certain set of qualifications one must possess and can be an added advantage to apply for the internship. It includes falling asleep within 10-20 minutes of going on bed. A strong knowledge of how sleep products including clean blankets and pillows can contribute to better sleep. One must have a good track record or experience of falling asleep in any kind of environment irrespective of noise and light. And people who are motivated to stay in bed for at least eight hours. The candidates must be also able to analyse personal sleeping patterns. And the candidate must be 25 or above in terms of age.
Chaitanya says, "As I said earlier, there are so many reasons to get distracted and not fall asleep and social media is also one of them. In our two years survey, we observed that people sacrificed their sleep by being hooked on to social media for long hours. At that time and even now, mobile networks are providing faster internet for lesser money. Despite all these reasons, a person must not get distracted and they must make a point to sleep at a particular time. The reason behind mentioning more than 25-years-old is until 24 years, a person can be active and fresh even if they sleep for four hours. After 25, one must it a habit to sleep for a good amount of time. Because that's when career growth happens and people get married."
Process of selection
Since more than one lakh people have already applied, there is a particular process that the founders will follow. The shortlisting of candidates is yet to begin. While the first round of shortlisting will include the written format of the application where they have to write to us about their passion for sleeping, the second round requires applicants to convince the co-founders through a video. In the final round, a celebrity will take a call on who can be a part of this internship. The interns will be paid Rs 1 lakh if they get through the 100 days.
In addition to providing a mattress, Wakefit.co is also providing a sleep tracker. This sleep tracker will give information on their sleeping pattern, the number of hours they slept and the actual time, etc. This will help them take the necessary steps to improve their sleep. Aside from this, there will be different experts of health and fitness who will provide guidelines to the interns over a period of 100 days. The experts will suggest the diet that one has to consume and the kind of exercise they must do to be fit. They will also provide room makeover suggestions which also impact your sleep. "By following guidelines if this interns' lives become better, then, we will chronicle it. Other people will learn about the same and try to follow it," says Chaitanya who suggests that on average, one should sleep for 7 to 9 hours. And above eight hours is considered to be healthy.
