Prioritizing sleep has become increasingly popular over the past decade. American society encourages people’s pursuit of a perfect night’s rest with a variety of consumer products. From fancy mattresses and weighted blankets to medicinal sleep aids, there are plenty of options to upgrade your sleep quality, but the costs undeniably add up. People are increasingly understanding the importance of getting quality sleep, but are they actually willing to invest in it?
We wanted to find out if Americans actually put their money where their mouths are and buy into the sleep improvement movement, so we conducted a study of over 3,000 respondents.
Key findings:
- Over 20% of Americans refuse to spend more than $100 to improve their sleep.
- Women are more likely to spend on sleep-aiding products compared to men.
- Fewer than 20% would invest in a more expensive mattress, even if it meant higher quality sleep.
Over 20% of Americans Won’t Invest More than $100 to Improve Their Sleep
Even though sleep aids could be a game changer for better sleep and overall health, 24 percent of survey respondents refused to spend more than $100 on these kinds of products.
A similar percentage of men and women (23 percent and 24 percent, respectively) agree that less than $100 is their preferred amount to spend on sleep improvements. However, men are slightly bigger spenders on sleep, with 7 percent open to investing $1,000+ compared to just 5 percent of women.
Considering the amount of money people spend to improve other areas of their health, it’s fascinating that roughly one in five people refuse to invest more than $100 to ensure they get quality rest. Based on these responses, it seems people still don’t value the power of sleep as much as they should. Meanwhile, studies have shown that the average American easily spends about $92 a month on coffee.
If you’ve ever pulled an all-nighter and then splurged on multiple coffees the next day, you understand the vicious cycle of using caffeine to combat exhaustion. It would make more a lot more sense for your health and your wallet to focus on getting an adequate amount of sleep in the first place.
Fewer than 20% of People Would Invest in an Expensive Mattress, Even if it Meant Better Overall Sleep
Considering we spend about a third of our lives in bed, the mattresses we sleep on are pretty important. Our survey respondents seemed to disagree, with fewer than 20 percent of people investing in a mattress that costs over $1,000. The average cost of most standard mattresses ranges from $900 to $1500, so people seem to be content with the bare minimum. Most people aren’t convinced that the health benefits of a mattress outweigh the price. Should they be more concerned?
Sleep experts emphasize the transformative power of a quality mattress and caution against sleeping on a subpar mattress for a long time. There are serious consequences of chronic inadequate sleep due to a worn-out or poorly made mattress. In fact, the resulting sleep deprivation could negatively affect your work performance, slowing down cognitive processing in a similar way to alcohol. Not only will you be less productive, but you’ll also have a weakened immune system, which only perpetuates the vicious cycle.
Women Invest More to Get Quality Sleep Than Men
With women driving 70 to 80 percent of all consumer purchasing, it might not come as a surprise that more female survey respondents reported they spend money on sleep aids than their male counterparts. However, it’s worth noting that only about 2% more women than men invested in products like weighted blankets, white noise machines, blackout shades, and sleep medication.
You might think there would be a larger discrepancy between men and women’s spending. After all, women have different motives and rationales for shopping and tend to invest more in self care and personal appearance than men. Also, many women are in charge of buying products for their households, naturally increasing dollars spent shopping.
Sleep experts claim women need more sleep than men due to multiple factors, including their tendency to use more of their brain and multitask more frequently than men during the day. Why are they spending upwards of $300 per month on beauty maintenance, but not prioritizing quality beauty sleep? It might just have to do with the fact that even though women conceptually understand the importance of sleep, it’s still not at the top of their infinite to-do lists.
10 Ways to Invest in Quality Sleep for Cheap
Getting quality sleep can be an expensive endeavor, and most people aren’t willing to spend money on it. Here are 10 ways you can get a better night’s rest without blowing your budget.
Survey Methodology
This study consisted of three questions conducted by Coupon Chief through Google Surveys. The sample consisted of no less than 1,000 completed responses per question. The survey ran on January 17, 2020.
At the end of the day, people are still reluctant to spend their hard-earned cash on sleep aids and nice mattresses. Consistently getting a good night’s sleep is instrumental to good health, most but people still aren’t willing to pay much for it. We hope our budget-friendly tips were helpful. If you’re concerned about how much money you’re spending in your pursuit of a good night’s sleep, it might be time to take a look at your budget and find some ways to save money.
Sources
NCBI | Food and Wine | Sleep Foundation 1, 2 | Entrepreneur
