Which would you prefer: Good night of sleep--or a good romp in the hay?

Posted by: Dean Foust on August 20, 2009

So, pick your side folks: A perfect night’s sleep, or great sex? Apparently, more of you prefer the sleep. According to a new survey of 12,500 frequent travelers (sponsored by Westin Hotels & Resorts conducted with the help of the National Sleep Foundation), more than 51% of respondents preferred a perfect night of sleep to great sex (that’s 20 percentage points higher than when Westin conducted a similar survey two years ago). Nearly half of those polled (42%) said they’d “rather have a sleeping pill on their pillow than a traditional chocolate,” and 57% said a bad night’s sleep has hurt their business performance.

I’ll highlight some of the other survey findings, but the today’s question for discussion is, you guessed it, would you rather have a perfect’s night sleep or great sex? Anonymous handles are allowed, of course. Interestingly, Westin is hosting a toll-free sleep hotline (888 TIME-4-SLEEP) staffed by National Sleep Foundation experts (medically trained) who can try to help callers troubleshoot their sleep problems. The hotline will run until September 15, from 6 pm to 1 am EST. (And trivia question: Who can ID the movie from which the photo above was taken?)

Here’s a sampling of the rest of the poll:

--men, not women, are more likely than women to take sleep over sex, with the majority of women saying they prefer sex to snoozing. And Americans aren't alone – in 90% the countries surveyed, sleep beat sex (Canada was the sole exception).

- 60% said their Blackberry or other handheld device has hindered them from getting a good night’s sleep.

- 62% take a “relaxant, sleep or stress medication,” either over the counter or by prescription, while traveling overnight.

- 58% said the biggest worry keeping them up at night is bills. Another cause that keeps people tossing and turning is problems with their spouse or partner (25%).

- In Canada and China, however, the biggest worry was problems with a spouse.

- 58% would go out of their way or pay more to stay at a hotel with their favorite bed, and one in four is willing to pay $100 extra for a good night’s sleep.

- The most common side effects of a bad night’s sleep? Getting in a fight with a boss or co-worker (29%) or a spouse or partner (25%).
- 57% said a great hotel bed provides a better sleep experience than at home (okay, a somewhat self-serving question given that the survey was sponsored by a hotel chain. But still, it’s an interesting finding. Doesn’t work for me, since I invariably—despite my requests when booking a room—get stuck near an elevator, near the ice machine, or next door to a group of college students who stay up all night.)

On a related note, I found a couple of web sites with good information on sleeping in airports (which I've, fortunately, only had to do once in my life): Homeless By Choice, and The Guide to Sleeping in Airports. Plus, I found this nifty article from The New York Times on sleeping in airports, which includes mention of the Mini Motel (pictured above), a one-person tent for travelers stranded overnight in airports.