Mattress company shares sleep secrets of happiest people

The happiest people may be those who sleep just over seven hours per night, according to an American mattress company.

The company Amerisleep conducted a survey of 2,000, and found that the respondents who claimed to be happiest got that amount of sleep each night. The company shared its results – along with links to scientific studies about the healthiest sleep habits – on its blog.

“Those who reported being somewhat unhappy or completely unhappy got an average of less than seven hours of sleep per night, while ‘perfectly happy’ people reported slightly over seven hours per night,” Amerisleep wrote.

The company surveyed 2,000 Americans, asking them about their sleep habits, how much sleep they get eat night, their relationships, and their habits. Some of their findings reinforce existing scientific research on sleep.

For example, some of the people surveyed reporting worrying about their relationships. This spanned all of the sleep categories. However, those who got less sleep reported being significantly less happy overall than those who got between 6.8 and 7 hours per night.

“According to our survey, if you’re in a bad relationship, you’re also not getting a lot of sleep,” the company reported. “But what about if you’re in no relationship at all? Turns out, single people get the most sleep of any group in our survey, and separated people get the least.”

They also confirmed that medication can impact sleep habits, but they did find that some medications, like Benadryl, seemed to be associated with less sleep, though the survey didn’t indicate if that was because of the medication, or because of the allergies it is often used to treat.

Some more surprising findings: Living in a noisy area or having an uncomfortable mattress didn’t bar respondents from being among the happiest people. Most of the respondents who reported a light room, mildly noisy sleeping environment or uncomfortable bed still got plenty of sleep.

“Light, comfort, and noise do matter, of course, but only when they are significant,” the company said.

While people who are well-rested tend to be the happiest, Amerisleep concluded, poor sleeping conditions can be overcome, and getting a good night’s rest can help other aspects of your life.

And a little pre-bedtime meditation never hurts, the company said.

—

By Kyla Cathey, Earth.com staff writer