March is National Bed Month

70% of Brits don’t believe they are getting enough sleep
52% think a bad mattress could be to blame
37% take less than 5 minutes to choose a new mattress
34% of women blame their partners hogging of the duvet for disturbed sleep

March is National Bed Month, a month-long celebration dedicated to the importance of a good night’s rest - so with approaching days getting longer (the clocks go forward by one hour on March 26th) the importance of quality sleep in your life is a hot health topic.

A recent study of 3,000 adults in the UK by home furnishings experts IKEA shows nearly three quarters (72%) take under ten minutes to choose the mattress they are likely to sleep on for the next eight years. In fact a third of those questioned make this crucial decision in less than five minutes. According to the research, that’s the same amount of time people take choosing their lunch each day.

The main reason behind these hasty purchases appears be the great British reserve, which research shows is alive and well as nearly a third (31%) of those surveyed admitted to feeling shy and embarrassed when testing a mattress. A further 26% admitted that they would be too embarrassed to even lie down on a mattress in-store before purchasing it.

Bedroom experts IKEA recommend testing a mattress properly by lying down on it, moving into different positions and simulating sleep for a minimum of 10 minutes. Yet bedroom shy Brits regularly avoid these practices. IKEA found that only 15% of couples would lie down on a mattress to test it together, with an even shyer percentage (9%) believing the best method to test a mattress before buying it was to push down with their hands or to sit on the edge for a few moments.

Sleep expert Jim Horne believes our British reserve could be keeping us up at night. He says, "I’ve always been puzzled why people spend so little time choosing a bed when they are going to spend maybe a third of their daily lives in such close contact with it. During sleep the body relaxes, so it’s important that when choosing a mattress one takes time to physically and mentally loosen up and test it properly."

Pippa Swain, IKEA UK and Ireland bedrooms manager, adds, “Our research shows that the great British reserve is alive and well, with embarrassment and shyness preventing customers from finding the right mattress for their sleeping behaviour. But when you’re going to live with your mattress for such a long time, it’s important to take the time to choose one that you’re comfortable with.”

FACTFILE:
IKEA have launched a new free 'happy to bed' mobile app, that sends you to bed at the perfect time and in the perfect mood for sleep. It monitors sleep patterns and offers hints and tips to make all the difference to getting a good night’s kip. The app can be downloaded free at http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/happy-to-bed/id488685327?mt=8

Use the IKEA online tool to get some tips and ideas of what type of mattress would suit you at http://www.IKEA.co.uk/mattressguide. IKEA offer a ‘try it at home’ service where you can try your mattress out for 90 days at home, and if it’s not right you can bring it back and change it for another one. IKEA mattresses also come with a free 25 year guarantee.

IKEA was established in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad at the age of 17, in Småland, Sweden.

IKEA is the world’s leading home furnishing retailer with a grand total of 280 IKEA stores in 26 countries/territories that are visited by 626 million people every year. IKEA UK has 18 stores and IKEA Ireland has 1 store. The first IKEA store in the UK was opened in Warrington in 1987.

The IKEA Group has 127,000 co-workers in 40 different countries over four continents. 103,500 in Europe, 15,500 in North America and 8,000 in Asia and Australia. There are 9,000 employees currently working at IKEA UK and Ireland organisation.

IKEA has a range of 9,500 different home furnishing products.

Sales for the IKEA Group for the financial year 2010 increased by 1.7 per cent to a total of 23.1 billion euros. Despite the tough economic climate, IKEA UK & Ireland has reported that total sales for the year to 31 August 2010 rose by 1.1% to £1.2 billion.

Last year, IKEA stores welcomed a total of 712 million visitors across the world and IKEA had 42.3 million visitors in the UK stores

Last year, the annual IKEA catalogue was printed in 197 million copies, 61 editions and in 29 languages. In total, the catalogue was read by 400 million people in 41 countries. Ingvar Kamprad penned all the text himself until 1963.

(EDITOR: Don't forget the Swedish cheeses in the Ikea Food Court!)