Did you know you can get paid to sleep? While it may come as a shock to you, people have made over $19,000 simply by sleeping when participating in sleep studies.
Can I get paid for sleep studies? You can make money by participating in sleep studies. According to DLF Probandensuche in participation with NASA, for “full participation in the study you will receive 16,500 euros” which is a bit over $18,000 USD for 60 days. Even though this is a less-known passive money making opportunity, it can definitely be rewarding.
Harvard is also looking for participants and offering different amounts (up to $9,000 USD depending on what sleeping disorder participants have. Below, we will have a look at how you can make money by participating in sleep studies.
Why do Sleep Studies Exist?
Who doesn’t want to earn money by doing next to nothing? So how does this passive income opportunity work? Who is willing to pay for people to sleep?
For starters, there is NASA. Their bed rest studies were performed on several volunteers willing to spend no less than 60 days in bed. These studies were carried out for space travel to Mars. You can read more about them here.
Other companies out there require sleep studies to test out mattresses, fitness apps, or to enable scientists and doctors to discover new treatment methods for sleep-related conditions. Companies need people to track their sleep patterns and create improved products/services for mass production. Even some hospitals have entire dedicated departments that are requesting volunteers for sleep studies. Their aim is to find solutions to sleep problems like insomnia, sleep apnea, periodic limb movement disorder, narcolepsy, and the list goes on.
Sleep Study Passive Income
Before you apply to a sleep study, you should determine if you qualify to participate in one. Most companies are looking for people who deal with a certain condition.
1. Make Sure to Qualify
If you have one of the following conditions or you experience mild symptoms, then you may be a perfect prospect for these types of studies:
- Insomnia
- Sleepwalking
- Night terrors
- Excessive snoring
- Trouble falling asleep
- Problems falling asleep while driving
- Limited air or gasping for air while sleeping
- Waking up with extreme fatigue and muscle pain
- Pain in legs or tingling
- Restlessness while sleeping
Few people actually have a perfect sleep. Therefore you may be a potential candidate for sleep studies. If you do not have a condition, do not worry. Each sleep study is different, so the qualifications differ from test to test.
Most companies need participants in a certain age range, with a certain condition or in a certain shape. Moreover, you also need to be able to spend over 7 days in the hospital for certain sleep studies, so it is important to be able to take time off during this time.
2. Apply to a Sleep Study
The next step is to look for sleep studies in your area. The best way to find sleep study facilities is a quick online search. Go on Google and type in “sleep studies near me” or “sleep studies [New York]”. Replace New York with your actual location, or with a city close to you.
While most sleep studies are performed in the United States, you can find plenty of studies in hospitals all across the globe. You should also check out this tool it is a worldwide database of studies conducted worldwide. You can find a lot of precious information on this tool and you can easily search by city, condition or by other criteria.
Only look for studies whose status is “recruiting”. If you think you qualify, do not hesitate to contact the person who conducts or manages the study. You need to be as honest as possible with your answers. This means you should never say you have a certain sleeping problem just to be elected for the study.
3. What to Expect Once You Are Accepted
Once you are accepted at a trial, you might need to complete several pre-assessments and tests. Usually, facilities require candidates to carryout a complete a physical exam, a psychological exam and various other sleep-related tests. They need to confirm that you have a certain sleeping problem, plus they need to make sure you can handle the stress involved with the study.
You will still be paid for your time involved in the examinations in case you fail one of them. However, if you pass all of them, expect to be called in for a one-day period of sleep. Once it is over, you will be called for more days or even weeks, depending on the requirements of the study. You might also be required to carry a fitness device and eat only certain foods.
During the sleep study, expect to sleep a lot. However, sleeping at the facility is different than sleeping at home. For starters, you might need to wear an IV, rectal thermometer or electrodes. Moreover, certain phases of the study might require you to stay in a certain position, so expect to use bedpans.
Aside from all the things you might be required to wear and the medical devices on your body, you might be asked to stay in a certain position. For example, in the famous NASA studies, participants had to stay at a 20 degree angle, with their feet up. They were required to eat, sleep and drink water in that position. If you cannot sleep in the same position or spend more than a few hours in the same spot, then you’re probably want to skip the sleeping study altogether.
What to be Prepared For
Ultimately, remember that a sleep tests involve isolation. You may be cut off from the internet and from the outside world. If you want something less invasive, you may want to go with mattresses testing. Find a bed tester company and test a new pillow, or mattress. You can get paid up to about $1,200 USD a month to test designer beds or high-end mattresses. These opportunities exist, you just need to find them online and submit your application.
How Passive Are Sleep Studies?
This is probably the most passive income making opportunity ever. You get paid to sleep, something you need to do anyway. Of course, you need to search for sleep studies, take part in the pre-assessment and get past the initial trials. That alone might take one or two full days.
Scalability
However, this is not at all scalable. It depends on you being physically present. After the test is over, you need to start all over again to get paid. You can’t double yourself or outsource it so don’t count on this as a regular income source.
Startup Costs
You don’t need to invest anything except your time in the application process. All you have to do is to be willing to take part in some tests and wear medical devices to test out your body’s responsiveness to external stimuli. Other than that, you can only make money from sleeping tests.
Difficulty
Making money with sleeping studies is not difficult if you think about it. All you have to do is relax, lay still and get some well-earned sleep. However, if you’re always spending time online or you are always connected to those around you, then you probably might need some time to accommodate with your new situation (being cut off from the world).
Each sleeping study is different than others, some may be more immersive whereas others may allow you to go home during the day. In the end, you are the one who chooses which studies to embark on.
Time
You definitely need to invest a lot of time sleeping. While you could invest up to one week in studies, and then another few days in the test phases, you might have to invest up to 60 days in the actual test.
Risk
The risks depend on each study and you will have to sign a form before joining that will detail the risks involved. Some risks include mental strain. It may be long and boring to sit with nothing to do. However, you could also consider sleep studies to be an opportunity. They give you a precious chance to learn more about yourself as a human being and allow you the opportunity to unwind and disconnect from daily stress.
Seasonality
Sleep studies can be found during any time of the year. They are not seasonal but there may be more participants available during the summer periods when people can take a few days/weeks off from work.
ROI (Return On Investment)
When you think about it, the ROI for this passive income opportunity is not amazing. Not every study is like DLF Probandensuche and some only pay $100 in the application stage, and around $1,000 for a one-week trial. Depending on the country, hospital and stakeholders, you may earn only earn $100 a day to be paid to sleep. Everything depends on the study you choose.
Again, sleep studies is not the most passive money making opportunity available today. If you want something that can give you quick passive revenue while sleeping in your own bed or in a hammock on a private island, then check out other passive income ideas on our blog.
Related Questions
Here are a couple other questions related to how you can make money from sleep studies.
How much do you get paid for sleeping? According to DLF Probandensuche in participation with NASA, for “full participation in the study you will receive 16,500 euros” which is a bit over $18,000 USD for 60 days. According to USA Today, some studies pay $3,000 USD for nine day participation. Others have gotten paid $1,200 USD for testing mattresses for a month.
Can you get paid to do a sleep study? You can get paid to do a sleep study. Harvard is looking for participants and offering different amounts (up to $9,000 USD depending on what sleeping disorder participants have. According to USA Today, some studies pay $3,000 USD for nine day participation.
