Remember when Nicki Minaj claimed she has sex three to four times a night and we all thought: “Yep, don’t have the stamina for that?” Well, apparently plenty of people are limber enough to go at it every night for seven nights in a row.
In a survey of 2,000 couples, more than half claimed they have sex before going to sleep up to seven times a week. But others aren’t getting so lucky, as 24% of couples admit they never have sex before sleeping.
There are worse things you could do before sleeping every night. No really, there are. Of the people surveyed, a third of couples go to sleep on an argument up to seven times a week.
It turns out, millennials are the most vocal about their love lives and couples between 25-35 talk about their sex life in bed more than any other age group.
But some thoughts are best left unsaid as one in eight are still thinking about ex-partners while in bed with a current partner (fun fact: twice as many men think about ex-partners in bed compared to women).
Diving a little deeper into the sleeping habits of couples, the researchers, working on behalf of linen company Piglet, discovered the top five positions couples sleep in at night.
Four in 10 (41%) of couples said they sleep back to back while 37% sleep side by side. A quarter (25%) sleep on opposite sides of the bed and 23% spoon each other to sleep. Only 11% of Brits sleep holding hands with their partner.
But how often do we kiss our partners goodnight? Well, less than half of UK couples always end the day with a peck. A total of 18% of UK couples said that they “rarely” or “never” kiss their partners goodnight with almost half (49%) of couples aged 65 and over “always” kissing their partner/spouse before they sleep.
The researchers asked the couples what they talk about most often when in bed together to find out the most popular topics of pillow talk.
The results showed that friends and family (56%), events of the day (53%) and weekend plans (45%) are the most popular pre-bedtime topics of conversation in the UK.
They also discovered that only 23% of Brits discuss their sex lives with their partner while in bed, whereas 31% talk about money most often.
A staggering 64% of couples spend up to three hours a week talking about work in bed. While 70% of 18-24-year-olds discuss the future in bed with their partner – more so than any other age group.
Half of couples said they “strongly” or “somewhat” agree that talking to their partner/spouse before they sleep can help them sleep better. The other half, maybe not so much.
Pillow talk can definitely help to stabilise your relationship says founder of Piglet and linen expert Jessica Mason.
She explained: “Talking to your partner about anything and everything can benefit your sleep and your relationship. When you’re in bed, it is a great time to talk to your partner as there are fewer distractions. And, as we often feel safe in this environment, it allows us to be most vulnerable and expressive. ‘Pillow talk’ can be an essential relationship tool for building intimacy and keeping the lines of communication open in a partnership.
“Additionally, talking about stresses caused by daily life, work, or anything else before sleep can also help you to rest easier. And your partner might even be able to offer you ideas or solutions as well as comfort.”
Just make sure you put your phone away first.