Many Adults Still Sleep with a Teddy Bear

Creatas/Thinkstock(LONDON) — Many adults slept with a teddy bear when they were younger, and a new survey reveals some apparently haven’t given up the habit.  A survey of 6,000 Brits by the Travelodge hotel chain finds 35 percent of adults admitting they sleep with a teddy bear.  The respondents say the bear helps reduce stress at the end of the day and make it easier to sleep.

Travelodge commissioned the survey after staffers made efforts to reunite more than 75,000 forgotten teddy bears left behind at its hotels, and discovered many belonged to adults.

Additional survey findings:

• 25 percent of male respondents take a teddy bear with them when they go away on business trips. Many say the bear reminds them of home, and snuggling with it at night helps them sleep.
• 26 percent of male respondents said it was quite acceptable to have a bear regardless of your age.
• 51 percent of British adults said they still have a teddy bear from their childhood.
• The average teddy bear in Britain is 27 years old.
• Ten percent of single men surveyed admitted they hide their teddy bear when a woman stays over.
• 14 percent of married men say they hide their teddy bear when family and friends come to visit.
• 15 percent of men and 10 percent of women treat their teddy bear as their best friend and share intimate secrets with it.

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