A poll of 2,000 adults has revealed just how much everyday life takes place on the average mattress, which hosts 18 breakfasts in bed, nine food and drink spillages, and 202 intimate moments annually. The average mattress will also endure 402 hits of the snooze button, 103 cups of tea, and 13 disagreements in a typical year.
It is also the place for the latest gossip, playing host to three end-of-day debriefs every week, whether face-to-face or over the phone. Brits watch around 44 films or TV programmes from the comfort of their mattress over the course of 12 months.
Beyond Sleeping: Reading, Cuddling and Peace
Beyond sleeping, other activities enjoyed in bed include reading a book (23%), cuddling with a partner (20%), and simply savouring a moment of peace and quiet (15%). No matter the activity, the bedroom is considered an important retreat, with 57% naming it as the place where they feel most relaxed and comfortable. Almost a third (31%) even admitted they’d happily spend all day in bed if they could.
The research was commissioned by Silentnight in partnership with Professor Sasha Handley, a sleep historian at the University of Manchester, to mark its 80th anniversary and look at how the lifecycle of a mattress today fits into history.
Historical Perspective and Family Sharing
Professor Sasha Handley said: “The modern-day mattress is such a key feature in our everyday lives. While beds are designed as spaces to sleep, they have never been used for that alone.
“Across the centuries, beds have been places to read, socialise and recover from illness, with each generation bringing new habits and quirks to the bedroom.”
“What we sleep on has changed, but throughout that journey, the bed has remained a place of comfort, care and retreat, with individual rituals turning a bed from somewhere we sleep into a space that feels like our own.
“It’s interesting to see the role the mattress is playing in 2026 and where that will sit in our history of sleep.”
The research also revealed how people share their space, with 26% regularly welcoming their children into bed. Pets prove more divisive, with 16% strongly in favour of sharing their bed with a furry companion, compared with 31% who are firmly against it, according to the OnePoll data.
Comfort, Health and Mattress Replacement
Comfort sits at the heart of the bedroom’s appeal, with six in 10 saying their mattress is the most important element of their bed, ahead of fresh sheets (54%) and the duvet (37%). Despite all the other activities taking place on it, sleep unsurprisingly remains the mattress’s primary role, with nearly all respondents (94%) believing their mattress is important for maintaining a good sleep routine and getting quality rest.
A further 88% say having the right mattress is important for their overall health. Yet despite the amount of time people spend on them, 22% admit they are unsure how often a mattress should be replaced.
Ian Lambert, from Silentnight said: “The mattress we sleep on is integral to the quality of sleep we experience, yet so many of us still don’t understand what our mattress should do for us, how to choose the right option and when it’s time to say goodbye.
“As we use our anniversary to take stock of the evolution of our mattresses and sleep habits and have some fun looking at the lifecycle of it in 2026, it’s an opportunity to celebrate just how far we’ve come with understanding sleep and the products that support it.
“The main piece of advice is, as we’ve seen in the research, mattresses are personal to you and it’s about spending time understanding the options available to maximise comfort and sleep quality.”
