December 14, 2006

‘Hot-bedding’ derives from sleeping patterns and bunk shifts on ships and submarines. Flexi-working a mantra, the high seas sleep-style is becoming as common on dry land, observes John Hind


‘This is just a hurried note to confirm…’ says a scrawled message resting on a kitchen table, ‘I will be back from stacking shelves at 7:10am, will wake the children at 7:30am and will try not to disturb you before 7:50am. I need to sleep from 8:30am until 3pm.’

In England, over eight million people now work shifts outside the traditional 8am to 6pm – and over four million night shifts. Consequently, over five million beds now function as 'shift beds', wherein lovers, relatives and house mates negotiate times to use sleeping furniture (preferably in the quietest room). This is ‘hot-bedding' and derives from sleeping patterns and bunk shifts on ships and submarines. With accommodation ever smaller and more expensive, and flexi-working a mantra, the high seas sleep-style is becoming as common on dry land.

Extreme hot-bedding is when 10 squatting art students are sharing a hostel room or seven nurses in an apartment, take any opportunity they can to fall asleep the communal mattresses or settees.

Commonly hot-bedding involves a working mother, doing graveyard shift call-centre work three on, two-nights off, while undertaking a duvet juggling act with a husband who's previously worked in the City but is now a driver, three days and two weekend nights per week, reversed every third week.

Research says hot-bedding homes are more likely to be untidy and unhygienic, but this is probably only because there is no daytime or night-time hour when a vacuum cleaner can be used without waking someone.—Dawn/ Observer Service

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