Sleep-fluencers

👉 This is part of The Pervasive Now

In China, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia, a new trend has emerged: "sleep influencers" who earn incomes by live-streaming their naps to millions. This phenomenon uniquely blends the attention economy with an intimate form of personal exposure, bridging traditional content creation and the sensory experience of ASMR.

Platforms like Twitch, YouTube Live, and TikTok Live have become stages for this unusual content, where viewers can tune in to watch streamers sleep, often engaging through live chat functions. What might seem bizarre to some represents a fascinating intersection of digital entertainment and personal vulnerability.

Beneath this trend lies a deeper societal narrative, particularly in China, where the streams reflect a growing response to pervasive overwork. The country has witnessed the rise of nap capsules and workplace spaces that accommodate employees sleeping or showering—stark indicators of a workforce seeking a momentary escape from relentless professional demands.

Most interesting because
Ultimately, these sleep streams raise provocative questions: Is this digital respite a genuine solution for the chronically exhausted, or merely a symptom of a larger systemic issue of life burnout?

Sources

https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/4je3ve/chinas_tech_work_culture_is_so_intense_that/
NeuroLaunch