What Men Want In Bed - 2020 Men's Sleepwear Survey Results

PJ set for men - grey organic t-shirt and long pyjama bottoms

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The Votes Are In!

No, not the US presidential election results... There has been another poll running recently too.

Perhaps it's not quite as important in terms of the global geopolitical landscape, but in our minds, it's still super interesting and exciting. 

I'm talking about the 2020 Men's Sleepwear Survey of course, sponsored by Drift Sleepwear.

Why run a survey in the first place?

What you wear to bed is not exactly a topic that guys often talk about down at the pub. It's not that it's taboo... I just think it's not the most exciting of topics and we tend to assume everybody else is the same as us anyway.

When you run a sleepwear company however, it's pretty important to know everything there is to know about the topic.

Curiosity got the better of us, so during the month of October 2020 the Drift Sleepwear team surveyed hundreds of people to find answers to all the unresolved bedtime mysteries about what pyjamas are actually the best for men. 

The results have been somewhat surprising and very informative! These are the top 3 themes that stood out...

Panama Organic Cotton Pyjama Shorts for Men from Drift SleepwearPanama Organic Cotton Pyjama Shorts for Men from Drift Sleepwear

1) Most Men Aren't Satisfied In Bed 

Interestingly, there are more people unsatisfied with what they wear to bed than those that are satisfied. Given we spend one third of our life sleeping - this is a pretty worrying statistic. 

Are Men Satisfied with sleepwear graph

When asked about the specific problems that they have with their current sleepwear, there were clearly some common areas of concern.

Temperature regulation is really important for guys. It's much more common for men to overheat (in general and when sleeping at night) than women. Ever notice that women are always turning the heat up and men are turning it down? It's an ongoing battle. 

The reason is that men have a higher metabolic rate and so naturally feel hotter. 

Specific complaints we heard about this were:

'I don't seem to be able to get myself to the right temperature'

'I want a lighter material so I don't get so hot'

Another common issue was that wearing clothing that aren't fit for purpose just doesn't cut it.

It's clear that many men simply use old clothes as pyjamas or a pair of boxers. Yes, this is perhaps cheaper but it also seemed to be an area of real frustration given the fabrics aren't always that comfortable and the design isn't suited to sleeping. 

Again, a specific example:

'Boxers ride up and can be uncomfortable and shorts constantly become looser as they stretch'

Consider a pair of old shorts for example - they may have buttons, metal tags or hems that shouldn't be exposed to your skin - they are designed to be worn with boxers! Sports shorts are quite often used because they tend to have more stretch and less irritating detailing, but again, they are still designed to be worn with underwear and the materials aren't generally made for sleeping in.  

2) Comfort Trumps Everything Else 

The numbers don't lie. 

The most important thing that men care about when looking for pyjamas is comfort. Hands down it is the winner by a long shot. 

How important is comfort in mens pyjamas graph

But what does comfort actually mean? Well, it's quite simple really:

'It should feel like I'm not wearing anything at all'

'As comfortable as being naked only warmer'

'Almost like a second skin. You don’t need to think much about it.'

Basically, even if guys don't want to sleep naked - they still want to feel naked. A warmer, more clothed version of naked.

In addition to this it was clear that pyjamas aren't just used in the bedroom and they need to be multipurpose. This is where sleepwear transitions into loungewear and vice versa. Men want something that is equally well suited in the bedroom, the kitchen and the living room - especially on lazy Sundays.

3) The Pyjamas Men Dream About... 

Of course, almost every pair of 'dream pyjamas' that were described to us included the words comfy or comfortable. But there were some other noteworthy themes.

This is where style and design starts to come in:

'Something that I would be proud to wear standing out on the balcony'

'Lightweight, well fitting, comfortable & smartish (delivery's always arrive early at home. Don't want to scare the drivers when I open the door)!'

Plus a personal favourite, because it's not all about you...

'Stylish to make my wife happy'

Our Conclusions

Most men aren't happy with what they wear to bed currently. Their current choice is far too uncomfortable because more often than not they aren't made specifically for sleeping.

It's clear that comfort is the most important aspect that needs fixing here. It scores 9.4 out of 10 for importance when men choose PJs. And the objective is simple - to make it feel like they're not wearing anything at all. 

Finally, given pyjamas are used as loungewear just as much as sleepwear these days (especially during lockdown), it's important that they look the part too. Guys want to feel proud of the prints and designs that they wear - even if it's just at home.

These insights, along with many others, will be used to help us develop the best damn mens pyjamas on the planet. Thanks again to everyone that participated.

If you have anything else you think we should consider then hit us up in the comments below!

Drift Sleepwear pyjama collection
Finally, would you like to read more interesting articles and blog posts about mens sleepwear and pyjamas and sleeping? Then head over to Our Blog!


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