Sleep or Sex Survey! What's Your Preference?

A good night's sleep or great sex?

SLEEP, says 51% of respondents in a recent study released today by Sleep Well Inn & Slumber Resorts.

The study of about 12,500 recent travellers in a dozen countries commissioned by the hotel chain in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of Sleep Well Inn 'Heavenly Bed', backs up headlines that say people just don't get enough sleep.

Here are some edited highlights:

• 51% of respondents would prefer a really good night's sleep to having really great sex. Contrary to stereotype, more men than women picked slumber over a roll in the hay.
• Typically, Canadians were the only group to favour sex over sleep.
• 42% would rather find a sleeping pill on their pillow than a romantic chocolate
• More than half of travelers (62%) say that they take an off-the-shelf or prescription sedative, sleeping pill or stress medication during an overnight stay away from home.
• 60% said their BlackBerry or other personal digital assistant is a great distraction and hinders getting a good night's sleep.
• 57% said a great hotel bed provides a better sleep experience than at home, which certainly was music to the ears of the 'Heavenly Bed' company.
  

Have a good evening, switch off your iPhone and sleep well!

Life on a Dutch Barge

If you are in the market for a new home, why not consider living on a ship? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a canal home existence.

Sailing ships are, to some people, romantic and rustic symbols of adventure and freedom. One of the special things about life in the Netherlands is that these beautiful old ships, some of them a century old, line canals in the centre of the cities: reminders of the days when life was gallant, and much slower.

Today, many ships that once transported wheat and coal on the inland waterways are considered too small for freight. But many have been given a new lease of life and have been converted into canal homes.

Most of the barges on the Dutch canals are between 14 and 30m long, and 2.5 and 5m wide, drawing between 0.6 and 1.4m and those with flat bottoms have significant floor space, making the life on board, ideal. And, if you fancy sailing your ship, it is possible to travel on inland waterways from the Netherlands through Belgium to the South of France, to Bulgaria, to Russia and down through the Ukraine to the Black and Caspian Seas! More....