Big Data Says Young People Live Well...in Bed

You’re reading this article, which means it’s statistically likely that you’re under 35. And that, according to new research, means that there’s a very good chance you are currently in bed. A new study based on anecdotal self-reportage collected from 250,000 users of Happify demonstrates that so-called millennials are really into being in bed. Sleeping, resting, relaxing, Netflixing and chilling are, for this massive demographic, all good. It’s a horizontal generation.

Millennial unhappiness and general angst — the so-called “quarter-life crisis” — is real, the study argues. Today, people in their 20s and early 30s are stressed about work, life, and the future. “This age group experiences a sharp increase in ongoing stress, characterized by the most negative thoughts and the least positive emotions, compared to other age groups,” the study claims. But young people do feel thankful for some elements of their lifestyle. When asked what they feel gratitude for, two of the six most frequent responses involved beds. One was “sleeping.” The other was “relaxing in bed.”

It makes sense both that people in this age group would spend a lot of time engaging in these (non) activities and that they would appreciate them. Millennials, the study claims, are stressed and sleep-deprived from their tiresome jobs. In addition, they tend to live in close quarters with other millennials. Lastly, due to either social or work pressures, millennials spend a lot of time on their devices — their laptops or smartphones. When someone is tired, they value sleep, and when someone is constantly tired, they really value sleep. When someone does not live alone, they value alone time. And when someone needs or wants to spend time on social media or immersed in entertainment, they value the opportunity to “relax in bed.”

And though the surveys likely did not solicit for risqué responses, it’s not hard to imagine other “positive experiences” one can engage in while “relaxing in bed.”