More than half of American adults own at least one plushie, and at least 40% of them sleep with their plushies at night. Brits are quite attached to their plushies as well, with 44% of the adult population owning plushies and 34% sleeping with them. In fact, they are so attached that 15% say they cannot sleep without their plushies at night.
Infographic from Cute Plushie Friends
Interestingly, men were more affected by the loss of their plush toy, with 21% saying that they felt that they have lost their best friend, as compared to 19% of women. Not a big difference, but it kind of tells us that men and women have similar emotional needs, doesn’t it? The strong emotional attachment people have to their plushie also means that adults want to keep their plushies with them forever, with more than half having held on to their favourite plushie for more than 20 years. Of course! Who would want to be separated from their plushie?
BRINGING YOUR PLUSHIE EVERYWHERE
When I was young, I would bring my plushie with me EVERYWHERE, including on holidays (much to the annoyance of my parents). Now we know that it is actually quite common even for adults to have separation anxiety from their plush toys. More than 1 in 10 adults bring their plushies on holiday, and 5% even sneaked their plushie into work. Sneaky, huh? It makes sense though, given that work can be very stressful and a plushie is a go-to place for comfort, especially when you are upset.
REMEMBER TELLING YOUR PARTNER ‘TIL DEATH DO US APART’?
Well, it should be ’til my plushie do us apart’. 1 in 10 adults prefer sleeping with their plushie more than sleeping with their partner. I don’t know which is sadder, being single or being the non-preferred bedroom companion, oops. But then again, cuddling a plushie to sleep is much more comfortable than having hair in your face or sleeping next to a burning charcoal right?
Don’t feel offended, non-preferred bedroom companions. It is not personal. A survey shows that 15% of adults cannot sleep without their plushie, and it’s not limited to women only. In fact, 28% of adult men sleep with their plushies. How cute!