Wake me up!: The a-zzz of sleep streaming

It started out as a quiet community of insomniacs and worriers tuning in to watch others sleep. See how it became the blaring free-for-all it is today.

The crack of a gunshot, blinding lights and a blaring siren punctuate Mikkel Stanley Nielsen’s sleep. He is paid to be disturbed.

For a dollar, viewers on Twitch can activate a bot to read out a message to him (“Every second you’re not running, I’m getting closer,” says one); for $48, they can turn on a speaker by his bed; for $95, they can zap him via a shock bracelet he wears.

He has over 500,000 followers across YouTube and