It’s one of the most precious, yet elusive things we’re all looking for: a good, peaceful, uninterrupted, night’s sleep. But how often do we get it? With our lives busier and more stressed than ever, juggling jobs, family, and our addiction to social media, it’s often hard to completely turn off at night and get a restorative eight hours. Lack of sleep is something moms talk about at the school gates, businessmen won’t admit in boardrooms, and college students take for granted. But what if you could wave a magic wand and get the perfect amount, every night? You’d do it, right?
Of course, there’s a catch – you’d have to pay! Sleep product review website, mattressclarity.com, carried out a survey of 3,000 people to find out just how much we would be willing to pay up for the privilege. And they made some very interesting discoveries!
It turns out that, on average, we’d be willing to spend 120 dollars a night in order to get some proper shuteye. Sure, that’s the equivalent of around sixty Starbucks Grandes, but maybe if we gave up our caffeine addictions anyway we wouldn’t have trouble falling asleep in the first place…
People in different states were willing to pay more than others – sleep is obviously highly important to people from New Hampshire – despite havingrelatively little traffic noise to keep them awake at night, New Hampshirelocals would gladly dig deep in their wallets and hand over $200 if it meant sleeping easy. The good people of The Golden State would be willing to pay $133. Those who valued a good night’s sleep the least wereOregonians, who would be prepared to offer $93 – which is still a considerable amount.
You can see how California compares in our infographic, here: https://www.mattressclarity.com/blog/putting-price-sleep/
The survey also looked at what different professions would be willing to spend on sleep. Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the long hours they work and the often stressful situations they have to deal with, healthcare workers would be prepared to pay the most: 164 dollars. The industry that values sleep the least is the pharmaceutical industry, with workers claiming they’d pay 91 dollars.
mattressclarity.com also surveyed people to find out the steps that they take to help them sleep when suffering from insomnia.
I try force myself to sleep 23.8%
Take sleeping pills 14.3%
Drink alcohol 3.2%
Work-out 3.2%
Do something relaxing like reading 27.0%
Work or surf the internet 28.6%
14.3% said they’d take sleeping pills, while 23.8% said they’d just stay in bed, trying to force themselves to sleep. A significant 28.6% say they’d work or surf the internet. These are all actually detrimental to the quality of your sleep: if you try to force yourself, for example, all that tossing and turning only amps up your anxiety about it. It’s far better to leave your bedroom, try to read for a bit, take a bath or drink herbal tea, and go back to bed when you feel sleepy. And sleeping pills are only too easy to rely on; when you take prescription sleeping pills over a long period of time, your body grows accustomed to the drug, and you need higher and higher doses to get the same sleep-inducing effect. 3.2% of people go for a work out if they can’t sleep – however, exercising right before bed raises your core body temperature, increases your heart rate and prompts your system to release stimulating epinephrine (adrenaline). And according to experts at mattressclarity.com, you shouldn’t work, watch TV, or use your computer in bed or the bedroom. The goal is to associate the bedroom with sleep alone, so that your brain and body get a strong signal that it’s time to nod off when you get into bed.
‘One thing is clear from our survey: we definitely value our shut-eye!’ says Joe Auer from Mattress Clarity. ‘When struggling for sleep, you shouldn’t work, watch TV, or use your computer in bed or the bedroom. The goal is to associate the bedroom with sleep alone, so that your brain and body get a strong signal that it’s time to nod off when you get into bed.”
