Posted on 10/25/2006 4:04:40 PM PDT by MadIvan
Maybe it's that withering look she gives you as she clatters her coffee cup or perhaps she's just plain snappy, but men have for years bemoaned the perils of early mornings with their better halves.
Millions of chaps across the country have come to agree that the best way to avoid the outbreak of World War Three over breakfast is to keep well away until the bad tempered creature that came from beneath the duvet (aka the wife) lightens up a bit.
New research has confirmed they have every right to be wary. It found that not only are women grumpier than men first thing, but also that they remain in a foul mood for longer.
A survey by The Sleep Council showed a quarter of men never wake up in a bad mood, compared to just one in seven women.
And reeling from a sleepless night, caused mainly by stress and worry, 13 per cent of the so-called fairer sex will remain in a bad mood for up to four hours, compared to ten per cent of men.
Jessica Alexander of the Sleep Council said women's grumpiness may be worsened because they shoulder most of the household chores in the morning.
"Twenty-eight per cent of women as opposed to only 5 per cent of men do any housekeeping before going to work," she said.
"It also tends to be them that prepares the breakfast, spends time with the children, check their emails and attend to their beauty regime. Women far outweigh men in having a busy and packed morning.
"So what do men do? Apparently just get up and go out: 17 per cent of them spend only 10 minutes on their wake up and get out routine."
The survey, published for national sleep-in day on October 29 when the clocks go back and people get an extra hour in bed, found that four in ten people believe a disturbed night is the main reason for grumpiness in the morning.
Nearly one in five of the population (18 per cent) say they never really get a good night's sleep.
But sleep secrets vary greatly between the sexes. For 18 per cent per cent of men it's nothing a stiff drink can't fix, while 19 per cent admitted sex was the key.
However, more than half of the women asked would rather tuck themselves in with a good book and 28 per cent said soaking in a hot bath sent them off to sleep. But seven per cent admitted resorting to sleeping pills to ensure a peaceful slumber.
A quarter of the 2,105 people who completed the online survey those cited general stress and worry as a reason for early morning moodiness, while 15 per cent just find it hard climbing out of a warm and comfortable bed.
Those over 45 years old suffer most in the sleep starvation stakes with 44 per cent saying they never get a good night's sleep. This could be down to their teenage kids who are the moodiest of all, with 25 per cent staying so for up to four hours after waking.
Regionally, Londoners are Britain's grumpiest with nearly one in five staying crabby for between two and four hours in the morning, the survey found.
Worst areas for bad sleepers are Yorkshire and the north east where only seven percent get seven nights of good sleep. In the south east, people get twice as much good sleep with 14 percent enjoying seven sound nights' sleep.
Miss Alexander said: "In London, it seems stress is the most likely cause for waking up in a bad mood, because many capital dwellers tend to be better sleepers."
Londoners also exercise most in the morning to get their day off to a good start. People in the north-west are quickest at getting ready for work with more than a third doing so in under 20 minutes.
Heh-heh!
I've always wondered about your screen name until my recent trip to Britain. What a great tasting soda. I checked the supermarkets in my part of the country (western Wisconsin) to see if they sell the stuff. Unfortunately they don't. My Norwich raised wife brought back a ton of Sainsbury's tea with us, but no Vimto. Alas.
Read this in the afternoon bump.
You mean the Steve Coogan/Alan Featherstone thing? Hilarious. My wife enjoyed pointing out places of interest around Norwich that were used for location shots by Coogan. And I actually saw quite a few of those places while visiting Norwich last month. We saw a great many British landmarks on our trip like London, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Stonehenge, Loch Ness, etc. But next time I want to see the big one: BLACKPOOLE!!!
I'm sorry, I meant Alan Partridge, not Alan Featherstone. Where have I seen that name?
We visited Great Yarmouth which my wife tells me an eastern version of Blackpool. Enjoyed that too. My only regret in visiting Britain was not purchasing a Jimmy hat in Scotland when I had the chance. Och aye!
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