- Because a standard double bed (135cm/4ft 6in) gives each person just 2ft 3in of space – less than a baby in a cot. Now how squeezed is that?
- Ergonomic studies show that couples sleep better in a bigger bed – and yet before trials only 15% said they would buy a larger than standard bed. After the trial 50% said they would.
- Because you spend a third of your life in bed – by the time we are 50 we’ll each have spent some 16 years in bed. So, if you are going to spend all that time there, why take the trip to dreamland in tourist class when you can go first class?
- Because it doesn’t necessarily cost a whole heap more to move up a size.
- Because 16 other countries can’t be wrong! That’s how many boast bigger average bed sizes than Britain. Top of the league are Belgium, Greece, Holland, Iceland, Finland and Switzerland where most people sleep in a roomy 160cm by 200cm bed. By contrast we Brits still, inexplicably, seem to favour the 135cm by 190cm bed.
- Because you spend as much as you can afford on the best possible house, holiday, car, kitchen, DVD, TV and sound system. So why so stingy when it comes to buying a bigger bed?
- As a nation, we’re all becoming a little larger than we were. According to Marks and Spencer, the average female size is now a 14 and the average man’s suit is a 40 medium to 44 long jacket. The average suit trouser has a 34 inch waist and 31 inch leg. Between us, that’s a whole lot of flesh in one small bed!
- Because there is even more of us when we are asleep! The average adult grows in the night by as much as two centimetres. During the day the spine is compressed; at night it is given the chance to straighten and recover.
- Because you wouldn’t want to get left behind! Although two-thirds of us still opt for the standard size, larger beds are becoming ever more popular: over 30% of double divan and bedstead sales are now 5ft (king size) or larger.
- Because the average person tosses and turns some 60 to 70 times a night – so you want to put as much space between you and your mate as possible to reduce the disturbance factor.
- Because you may not be as young as you were – or as slim! Latest official figures say one in five of us is seriously obese in which case the ‘two in a 4 ft 6ins scenario’ could be putting a severe strain on your relationship.
- Because once you’ve slept in a King Size, you’ll never want to be a second class sleeper again!
Facts provided by The Sleep Council