Hotel guests rate a good night's sleep above great sex

28 August 2009
Hotel guests rate a good night's sleep above great sex

A great night's sleep beats great sex, according to a new global survey of sleeping habits by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

The research also found people are so desperate for a good night's sleep that 42% would rather have a sleeping pill on their hotel pillow than the traditional chocolate.

The survey for Starwood's Westin brand included over 12,500 regular travellers across 10 countries as a follow-up to the sleep study it conducted a decade ago when it launched its Heavenly Bed.

Although beds may have improved over the last decade, sleep can remain elusive. Economic woes and relationship worries can get in the way. The survey found that 56% of respondents think a good night's sleep is more important than ever, and 61% believe that modern technology and constant connectivity devices such as Blackberrys can impair sleep.

Financial worries such as mortgages and bill payments keep 56% of respondents awake at night, while 25% are kept up by problems with their spouse or partner.

Westin's research found that desire for sleep over sex has increased over the last decade. 51% of travellers would choose great sleep over great sex now, compared with only 31% in the last survey. Men are most likely to pick sleep, while the majority of women would prefer sex.

The side effects of a bad night's sleep include damaged performance at work, reported by 57% respondents, while 29% were likely to get into an argument with their boss or colleagues and 25% fought their spouse or partner.

The survey was conducted to mark the 10th anniversary of the Heavenly Bed. Millions of travellers have benefitted as a result, with 43% saying their quality of sleep on the road has improved and more than half of respondents claimed they would go out of their way to stay in a hotel that has their favourite bed.

A minute on the clock with Travelodge's new sleep director Wayne Munnelly >>

Do you have the UK's most comfortable hotel bed? >>

The big sleep >>

By Lesley Foottit

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