Two in five adults 'dread' staying away from home due to bad sleep, study claims

Research finds 75 per cent of people have slept badly while staying in guest rooms

Two in five adults “dread" staying away from home because they know they will not sleep as well as they would in their own bed, according to a new poll.

The survey of 2,000 adults found that a large majority of those who had stayed away from home overnight, had woken up feeling rough in the morning.

Respondents worried about being “in the way”, sleeping on a bad mattress and waking their host in the middle of the night when stay with friends.

Witnessing awkward arguments, along with concerns over waking up too early and not knowing what to do, also played heavily on their minds.

Nearly half disliked staying overnight in places that were not their home.

“A great stay with friends is a fragile thing, easily disrupted by the smallest thing like a failure of etiquette, or even a poor night’s sleep," said Steve Reid, chief executive of sleep tech company Simba, which commissioned the research. “Many of our anxieties regarding staying over with friends stem from worrying about sleeping arrangements, and it should be important to host’s that their guests sleep with comfort and support, to ensure they wake up on the right side.”

The poll also revealed that 28 per cent were worried they would not get a good night’s sleep and one in five feared they would not have a proper bed to sleep in.

Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) had had a poor night’s sleep while staying in an uncomfortable guest bed.

However, 54 per cent of those people lied to their host and said they had a great night’s rest to avoid upsetting them.

In total, 62 per cent had a room ready for when guests come to stay and two thirds have a proper bed for guests to stay in.

Britons’ favourite thing about staying the night as a guest was getting to see their host, followed by the sense of adventure they get from being away from home.

One in 10 just liked taking a break from looking after themselves and being waited on by one of their friends.

It also emerged the average adult will spend 11 nights away from their own beds as a guest each year, staying with three separate hosts.

Steve Reid added: “Even the best guests find themselves with the short straw when they stay over, sleeping on a mattress or futon in need of a guest bed saviour."

SWNS