The Sleep Council’s latest PR awareness campaign, to celebrate National Sleep In Day (October 27), has found that over two thirds of the public spend most of our time in the bedroom. The results of the survey revealed that as the bedroom, and the bed in particular, increasingly becomes the hub of the home, the public is clear about what we they from the bedroom of the future.
According to the survey, the top five most desired features are:
1. Self-cleaning / bacteria resistant materials i.e mattresses with self-sterilisation systems (47%)
2. Heat/humidity adaptive materials i.e. mattresses that heat/cool in response to conditions (42%)
3. Smart Bed monitoring vital statistics during sleep i.e a bed that can warn of infection, an oncoming cold or impending heart attack etc (33%)
4. Seasonally adaptive lighting i.e. lights that turn on during the darker winter months to help wake in the morning (32%)
5. Energy-harvesting flooring and fixtures i.e. carpet that attracts the light and transfer this to useable energy (24%)
The press release was issued to national and regional media to coincide with National Sleep In Day, with a mock up visual of how The Sleep Council thinks the bed of the future would look. Retailers were also asked to get involved with the campaign and supply their own versions. The concept visuals were heavily promoted through social media.
The survey also found:
• Surfing the net is not restricted to the office… 27% of the public now use desktop computers/laptops to surf the net in bedrooms compared to only 11% 10 years ago
• Only 55% are intimate in the bedroom with partners, a 10% drop from 10 years ago (65%)
• 17% now like to talk on the phone in the bedroom compared to only 10% 10 years ago
• 62% of 16 – 24 year olds like to eat in the bedroom compared to only 22% of respondents overall. In fact 16 – 24 year olds like to do most things in their rooms – 28% like to do hobbies/crafts (compared to only 8% overall); 76% like to listen to music (compared to only 36% overall); and 28% like to exercise (compared to only 12% overall)
• Reading is still one of the top bedroom activities coming out second (65%) after sleeping
Here is a few of the quirkier/interesting responses to asking what features respondents would like their bedroom (and bed specifically) to have in the future:
- A hologram of Mr Darcy to read to me
- Ambient sounds - fall asleep to rainfall or wake to birdsong
- In the future (when arthritis hits) a bed that raises me to standing position on awakening
- Personally adapted supportive mattress that will ensure the body wakes up without aches and pains!
Design scientist and futurist Melissa Sterry, a leading authority on the homes and cities of the future said of the survey results: “The message we’re getting is clear – while new science and technology presents many novel and interesting applications, the bedroom and the bed of the future that people actually want is that which benefits their health and wellbeing. Four out of the top five features the public chose for their future bedroom enhanced comfort, mood and safety, and three of the five features relate directly to the bed. So, no matter how many other activities we do in our bedrooms, it seems sleep is – and will remain – the most important of these.”
