- Mums get less than five hours’ sleep per night
- The average mum wakes between 3-4 times a night
- They’d give up sex, chocolate and wine for good quality sleep
- Dads would rather give up booze than sex in return for a decent kip
SOME say it’s priceless but, today, exhausted mums have put a figure on what they believe a good night’s sleep is worth.
According to new research, desperately tired mums say they’d splash out £123 for a single night’s uninterrupted sleep.
That’s almost £45,000 a year and a quarter of a million pounds over the course of five years.
The survey of 2,000 Brits to celebrate the launch of the world’s first personalised pillow service, nanu, revealed that mums are the most sleep deprived of all and, as such, would give up some of life’s little luxuries, for a bit of shuteye.
Almost one in four would wave goodbye to wine, a third would give up chocolate and the same number admit they’d happily go without sex if it meant they could increase their current five hours’ broken sleep a night to the recommended eight.
Fewer than half that number of men (12%) said they’d swap sex for sleep, preferring to give up booze, their phones or chocolate.
As a nation, we’re not brilliant sleepers, either. The average Brit survives on just six hours and 24 minutes’ sleep a night, and almost half of adults (46%) say they’re lucky if they get one night of uninterrupted sleep every month.
More than seven out of 10 reckon they’re a “bad sleeper” and almost nine out of 10 wake up at least once every night.
Other than kids keeping us awake, we’re a nation of worriers with many laying awake thinking about money, family, health and jobs to household chores and even Brexit. More women (74%) say worry keeps them awake than men (56%).
Other reasons for our restlessness include old and uncomfortable mattresses and pillows, noisy neighbours and our pets.
Just a tiny handful – seven per cent - say they’re lucky enough to enjoy a refreshing snooze every single night. Generation Z, however, sleep easy, with a quarter getting the recommended eight hours a night.
Regionally, Bristolians sleep best, compared to Londoners who live, on average, off five hours’ sleep a night.
TV psychologist, Emma Kenny, commented: “People are working longer and harder than ever before and if you don’t have a settled feeling of sleep, often it provokes anxiety, which stops us having a further good night’s sleep and it becomes a vicious cycle. Everybody has a certain level of worry in their lives but at the moment, politically, we’re enduring Brexit – that is keeping people up constantly!”
Justin Young, spokesperson for nanu, said: “It seems a good night’s sleep is the holy grail for most of us. Some say it’s priceless, but we wanted to find out just what price people would pay for an uninterrupted eight hours a night, and the results are staggering, almost a fifth would willingly hand over £50 for just one night’s kip.
“The survey revealed there are a billion reasons why we struggle to sleep, but uncomfortable beds certainly shouldn’t be one of them. Having the right pillow is key to sleeping well and with nanu, we guarantee the perfect night’s slumber because our pillows are tailor-made for you using your data in an algorithm. We’re so confident in our claim, we even offer a 30 day trial. No, you’re not dreaming!”
WHAT WE’D GIVE UP FOR A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP:
MEN
- Chocolate 26.4%
- Booze 26.2%
- Phone 17.5%
- Sex 12%
- Pets 9.4%
WOMEN
- Wine 38.5%
- Favourite handbag 31.9%
- Chocolate 27.5%
- Favourite shoes 26.8%
- Sex 26.7%