The top six factors that impact our sleep – and a handy tip if you shop or work in bed

published 24 January 2020

The bed is our favourite place in the home, can we all agree on that? We all love a good night's slumber, but new research finds that more and more, we're centring our lives in bed.

Bed firm Dreams surveyed 2,000 people and found that 61 per cent shop online from the comfort of their bedroom. The bed has also become a popular place for working and relaxing in, but could it be having a negative impact on our sleep?

Bedtime shopping

bedroom interror with white walls and bedding with blue cushions

Londoners are the biggest culprits for online shopping under the sheets (76 per cent), while Glaswegians are the least likely to do so (22 per cent).

If given the chance to work from home, more than a third (37 per cent) choose to work from their own bed. Again, most of these people are Londoners, with the capital's workers being the biggest bed-based employees.W

But it may be that many of these workers are men. Dreams found that women are more likely to keep their sleep and work habits separate. Plus, it appears men are also more prone to using sleep technology to improve the quality of their sleep (13 per cent) when compared to ladies (9 per cent).

When getting optimum shut eye, over one third of Brits (32 per cent) try to make sure they have a reliable bedtime routine.

Top 6 factors impacting Brits' sleep quality

1. Mattress quality (42 per cent)

2. Dealing with stressful events throughout the day (38 per cent)

3. Pillow quality (38 per cent)

4. Worrying about what the following day will bring (36 per cent)

5. The darkness of the room (30 per cent)

6. Having fresh sheets (29 per cent)

Dr Pixie McKenna, a Dreams Sleep Expert, adds that the frame of our bed is vital to a good night's sleep. 'With more Brits opting to work, rest and play from bed, an adjustable bed frame that allows you to vary your position – depending on activity – may be well-worth considering.'