It’s official! Double beds are the new ‘singles’ among Britain’s solo sleepers.
With the news that sales of single beds are down by nine per cent in the past four years* while those of doubles are up, The Sleep Council says the Race for Space in bigger beds can only be good news for the nation’s sleep.
Said Jessica Alexander of The Sleep Council: “We’ve always known that people enjoy a better night’s sleep when they have plenty of space in their bed. The evidence now is that an increasing number of children and single adults are choosing to sleep on their own in a double rather than single bed and that’s a trend that can only be welcomed.”
Pointing to a changing bedroom landscape, the statistics reflect our evolving social habits: the growing number of single households and the increasingly ‘digitalised’ lifestyle of youngsters who spend large chunks of their lives interacting with others online from their bedrooms.
“The fact is that double beds are probably better suited to people sleeping alone than they are for couples,” said Jessica. “The average sized double bed is just 4ft 6” wide which gives each person just the same amount of room as a baby in a cot!
“The Sleep Council has always advocated sleeping in as big a bed as possible – and couples should certainly consider buying as big a bed as they have room for. Bigger beds mean less partner disturbance which means a better night’s sleep.”
Here are some other reasons why Bigger is Better:
- Ergonomic studies have shown that couples sleep better in a bigger bed. Before trials only 15% said they would buy a larger than standard bed while afterwards, 50% said they would. (Ergonomic Pilot Study of Bed Size and Sleep Quality by ICE Ergonomics, February 1995)
- Bigger beds mean better sleep – disturbance caused by a partner’s movement during the night in a small four foot six inch (135cms) wide bed can easily reduce restful sleep by up to one hour each night. (New Bed – Old Bed sleep research, conducted by Prof Chris Idzikowski, October 1998)
- As a nation we have grown upwards and outwards in the last 30 years. Men have gained 3cm in height and 6.75Kg in weight; women 1.75cm and 1.05kg. (Child Growth Foundation)
- The average adult grows in the night by as much as two centimetres. During the day the spine is compressed; at night it is given the chance to straighten and recover.
Source Daily Mail & Sleep Council
We sell more and more singles as more of our customers go continental. It's common to have separate duvets if not separate beds pretty much anywhere except here but it's definitely catching on.
The question is 'do you sleep well' and if the answer is no - it's time to change!