They say there are only two things you should do in bed: sleep and make love.
But for many of us, it seems like the former wins every time.
A study of bedroom habits shows that 85 percent of women prefer a good night’s sleep to an orgasm.
For men, perhaps unsurprisingly, this figure is much lower: 52 percent prefer a decent chicken to a satisfying sex life.
The gender gap emerged from a survey of 1,800 people by Good Housekeeping magazine.
The difference could be that women’s sleep quality appears to be worse than men’s, with 61 percent of women saying it varies, compared to 53 percent of men. But 79 percent of all respondents admitted to having trouble sleeping in general and said they were getting, on average, one to two hours less sleep per night than they would like.
A study of bedroom habits shows that 85 percent of women prefer a good night’s sleep to an orgasm (stock image)
While the majority said they would ideally have at least eight hours a night, only 15 percent of women and 23 percent of men said they got that.
An in-depth study of sleeping habits in Britain also revealed an interesting sleeping pattern: almost one in ten cohabiting couples do not share a bed. The research shows that 9 percent of people in a cohabiting couple sleep separately – with 92 percent of that number sleeping in separate rooms and 5 percent sleeping in different beds in the same room.
Due to what has been described as a ‘sleep gap’, there is a surge of interest in sleep aids, including sleep trackers, supplements, aromatherapy and specialist teas, according to the magazine.
The research shows that 72 percent of people have already spent money on sleep aids, while four in five would be willing to buy special mattresses and pillows to help them sleep better.
Good Housekeeping is preparing to announce the Sleep Awards for the best sleep-enhancing products. Earlier this week, Loughborough University announced it was working with Northampton-based mental health charity St Andrew’s Healthcare on a research program into the sleep patterns of its patients.
It will attempt to discover what benefits lifestyle changes can have on the sleep patterns of people struggling with mental health issues.
Last year, a similar study found that patients who exercised regularly were less likely to experience insomnia.