2022 Australian Sleep Awareness Week Survey Results

What position do Aussies sleep in?

We discovered that most Aussies prefer to sleep on their side, while only 13% prefer to sleep on their back and 12% prefer to sleep on their stomach. This information will help us design our mattresses and range of pillows.

In fact, your sleep position can determine what kind of pillow you need. If you’re a tummy sleeper, make sure you get a low-profile pillow to keep your head and neck in a neutral position. People who sleep on their back should look for a mid-profile pillow, to gently cradle their head, keeping their neck position optimal. And finally, high-profile pillows are great for the majority of us who sleep on our side, especially if you have broader shoulders – a higher pillow will help to position your head into the correct position for neck alignment. Contour pillows are quite versatile and make for a great option for both side and back sleepers; that’s 88% of all Aussies.

If you think it’s about time you got yourself a new pillow, check out these recent reviews of SleepMaker’s new range of pillows with temperature regulating technology Kulkote HERE.

If you’re tired of flipping your pillow to find the cooler side, SleepMaker’s Next Gen Visco + Kulkote pillow will quickly become your new favourite sleeping partner. With a Next Gen Visco memory foam core supporting the unique curves of your neck and head, plus a layer of Kulkote to draw away body heat, you will stay soothingly cool while you sleep.

How old was the oldest Mattress?

Can you believe that the oldest mattress reported in our 2022 Australian Sleep Awareness Week Survey was 52 years old and closely followed by a 50-year-old runner up! Ewwww…

We shudder to think about the number of germs that have accumulated within those mattresses!

Surprisingly 5% of people claimed to have a mattress that was over 20 years old. What we found interesting was that many of these people had hand-me-down mattresses, and all too often people with hand-me-down mattresses were young couples who recently moved in together. If that sounds like you and your bae; and you’re needing excellent value for money, SleepMaker’s Lifestyle range is for you. Our Lifestyle range is where comfort, great value and good quality combine, thanks to our commitment to locally manufacturing the best products with very reasonable price tags. You can check them out HERE, or by visiting any of our quality retailers.

It also turns out that about 15% of Aussies have a mattress that’s older than 10 years (and less than 20).

Did you know mattresses should be replaced every 10 years? There’s two main reasons why. Firstly, because of the smell and; secondly, because of the accumulation of microorganisms and bacteria as well as common household allergens, like dust mites and mold.

Thankfully most Aussies – that’s 80% of us, have a mattress that’s less than ten years old. But what this also means is that 20% of Aussies are sharing a mattress with a lot more than just their partner, kids or pets – they’re sharing the bed with millions of germs. If you’ve just realised your mattress is a bit over-crowded (read: full of germs), perhaps it’s time for you to start researching new mattresses. To help you get started (to evict your millions of tiny bed-buddies), try our Sleep Selector tool to help you find the perfect mattress HERE.

Our survey showed the oldest mattress was 52 years old.

Do Aussies sleep alone or with a partner?

Our 2022 Australian Sleep Awareness Week Survey showed that 47% of Aussies share a bed with just their partner (no pets and no kids in the bed). We also discovered that 36% of us sleep completely alone, but on top of this we did also have some interesting comments and feedback. Of the 36% of Aussies who sleep completely alone, half of those live with their partner but choose to have separate bedrooms. This was due to quite a few reasons. One of the most touching reason was from parents who are caring for their newborn and sleep in a separate bedroom to let their partner have a good night’s sleep. Those newborn days (daze) really are, just that; a daze, and we know how precious sleep is to new parents (congratulations, by the way if that’s you).

Recently, a TikTok couple went viral for sharing their reasons to sleep in different bedrooms and were able to use TikTok to help normalise the idea of couples who don’t share a bedroom, taking away the negative association and stigma. The reasons Chrissy and Tom Clark from Utah in the US shared were echoed in our survey responses. A lot of people attributed the separate bedrooms to issues like snoring (or the sound of the CPAP machine) or a partner who moves too much in their sleep.

If you’re a couple who are thinking it might be time to move to separate bedrooms (get a ‘sleep divorce’), or if you already have separate bedrooms and want to find a solution that can help bring you both back to sharing a bed, it might be time for you to think about finding a mattress with hybrid technology that’s been proven to completely eliminate partner disturbance.

SleepMaker’s Cocoon range of luxury mattresses are hand crafted with natural Australian wool and luxurious silk fibres to create layers of comfort within the quilt, whilst bespoke woven fabrics will give you that five-star hotel feeling every night. But, on top of feeling like you and your partner are on a romantic weekend away, the Cocoon’s Sensorzone, which is the world’s most advanced support technology, will completely remove any movement disturbance from your partner. It’s the ultimate best of both worlds – feeling like you’re sleeping in separate bedrooms with all the glamour of a romantic weekend away at a luxury resort.

47% Australians share a bed with a partner.

Do Aussies co-sleep with their babies, kids or pets?

What we found interesting was whether sleeping with a partner or not – most of us prefer to share a bed with our pets over our kids! It’s no surprise that 19% of Australians share a bed with their pet or pets, Australia truly is a nation of animal lovers. Our 2022 Australian Sleep Awareness Week Survey showed that only 12% of Aussies co-sleep with their kids. Dunlop Foams, our sister company and Australia mattress foam manufacturer proudly supports Red Nose Australia and its safe co-sleep recommendations. Find out more at Red Nose Australia.

Red Nose Australia states that “Co-sleeping can be dangerous, therefore, if you choose to co-sleep, it is important to know how to practice sleeping more safely, to reduce the risks as much as possible.” You can learn more about Red Nose Australia’s safe co-sleeping HERE.

If you’ve got kids who keep coming into your bed at night, maybe it’s time to upgrade them to a big kids bed!

We really feel for the 3% of us who share a bed with their partner, kids, new baby and pets!

More Aussies share their bed with pets than kids.

How well are Aussies Sleeping?

At SleepMaker, we know all too well how important sleep is. We know that sleep makes us healthy, sleep makes us smart, sleep makes us happy and that sleep makes us strong, so we were a little bit sad to learn only 7% of Aussies get a good night’s sleep. Most of us (58%) have difficulty falling asleep or tend to wake up too frequently, while 21% of Aussies just simply don’t get enough sleep… they just need more time in the day! Our 2022 Australian Sleep Awareness Week Survey has also revealed that up to 14% of Australians have consistently very poor sleep.

58% of Aussies have difficulty falling asleep.

Is technology keeping us awake?

As we sit down to enjoy our time with family, friends or pets after a long day, it is important to note that many of these activities involve looking at a screen. This can start to impair the effectiveness of sleep for everyone in your household – including you. If this is the case, you’re in the 29% of Aussies whose mobile phone is contributing to their poor sleep.

One of the biggest problems to be aware of is how the blue light from electronic devices like your phone, TV and computer can impact your sleep. Scientists are now discovering that our body’s own natural nightly cycle starts 2 hours before we actually fall asleep. During this time our core temperature begins to drop and melatonin is released – a hormone in charge of controlling everything about our internal clock (aka circadian rhythm). If you want to know more about how screen time can impact your sleep, check out THIS SleepMaker Sleep Guide.

29% think their mobile phone plays a part in their poor sleep.

How many Australians snore?

We really wanted to as people if they snore in our our 2022 Australian Sleep Awareness Week Survey – but honestly, we weren’t convinced that people would be truthful, or even know if they snore, so instead, we’ve asked if it’s someone else’s snoring that’s actually keeping YOU awake. As it turns out, 17% of Australians are being kept awake at night by their snoring partner.

If your partner is prone to snoring, an adjustable bed will provide a significant benefit in reducing the chance of snoring. By elevating the upper body by 45-60 degrees, the pressure can be taken off the chest – which then helps to promote easier breathing.

What about stress and other factors?

Most people’s sleep is affected by multiple factors, in fact our 2022 Australian Sleep Awareness Week Survey found that 85% of Australians report multiple factors contributing to poor sleep.

While only 3.8% of Australians blame stress as being the only reason they have poor sleep, a whooping 53% of us are affected by stress (along with other multiple factors), making stress the leading issue in Australia causing stress. We noted that a significant number of people put the stress down to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we hope that we can see a change in the percent of Aussies stressed in next year’s survey.

Surprisingly, 20% of Australians can’t sleep because they have an uncomfortable bed! At SleepMaker, we know nobody’s more passionate about sleep than us and for the last 85 years, our family-owned business has been making mattresses right here in Australia – for Aussies; but is seems we have more work to do!

If you’re struggling to sleep due to having an uncomfortable mattress, we encourage you to head out this weekend and visit one of our Retailers just to see how comfy SleepMaker mattresses are.

Our survey also revealed some very personal responses. We’ve heard from people who can’t sleep due to the hormones of menopause or during pregnancy. We also heard from people who experience pain, preventing them from sleep, with one person calling their nightly pain ‘painsomnia’.

Most Aussies experience poor sleep due to stress.

Is poor sleep affecting the daytime functioning and mental wellbeing of Australians?

Yes, it is, sadly. Our survey revealed that less than 1% of the population can have poor sleep without consequences, but a staggering 81% of Australians experience multiple functioning and mental wellbeing issues due to poor sleep. Other issues reported were, daytime sleepiness, feeling hyper, feeling down or depressed, feeling exhausted, being irritable or moody as well as reduced memory function, shorter attention span and brain-fog.

Poor sleep causes day time functioning issues.

Do Aussies want to improve their sleep?

Absolutely! Actually, only 4% of Australians DO NOT want better sleep. We wonder if they are the luckiest 4% of people in the country! This year’s survey has revealed that 58% of people want to improve their sleep but don’t know where to start, while 39% of us have already started to take action.

Most Aussies want to improve their sleep but don’t know where to start.

What strategies have been tried by Aussies to improve sleep?

Of the Australians who have tried things to help improve their sleep, most people (54%) have tried multiple strategies. The most popular strategy used to improve sleep by Aussies is reading, with 16% of people claiming to read before bed. We found that about 5.5% of Aussies use over the counter medications and sleep supplements while 4% rely on Doctor prescribed medication such as sleeping pills, with just 1% of Aussies trying Doctor prescribed medical marijuana.

Relaxing activities are helping with Aussies turning to soothing music (7%), meditation (5%) and sleep aps/smart watches (4.5%). Another 3% of Australians use things like weighted blankets to help with their sleep. And for the snorers – 2% use a CPAP machine to improve their sleep.

Our survey also attracted some personal strategies, things like doing puzzles, housework until exhaustion, using a fan in the bedroom, eye masks and essential oil – especially lavender were mentioned.

Get a Better Night’s Sleep with SleepMaker

We have a sleep solution for everyone, regardless of who they are or how they sleep. From large to little, hot to cold, and economical to luxurious, there’s something for everyone. Alternatively, if you want to relieve back pain, prevent roll-together, or sleep in a cooler environment, we have a mattress for you. The intricacies are what set us apart, and we’ve had decades to master them. The SleepMaker distinction is made up of hundreds of inventions working together, such as the long-lasting tensile of our springs, cool-to-the-touch surfaces, and foam that conforms to every curve of your body. That’s the difference that’ll have you nodding off for a restful night’s sleep.

Why not take our Sleep Selector Quiz to find the best mattress for you, or check out our list of retailers to find a store close to you, let us help you find better sleep.

You can also check out our special offers here.

And make sure you: