Something we found really interesting was that 22% of people living in London had said their bedside table contained pillow mist and other sleeping aids such as natural sedatives and eye masks. With a population of 8.788 million, the UK’s capital is constantly on the go – the city never sleeps! This could be why those residing in London struggle to drift off. It’s also a hotspot for career driven people who might find it hard to switch off from stresses of their jobs. Nottingham followed behind with 18% admitting they also had sleeping aids in their bedroom cabinets.

Amongst the weird and wonderful things Brits had admitted to keeping in their bedside tables, was their children’s’ teeth from when they were younger. The children are now in their 40s and 50s which means that some of the teeth are more than four decades old… On the flip side, it is really sweet to see a parent holding onto their child’s fleeting youth.

Only 7% Scottish people said they keep contraception in their drawer – and 5% of those were from Glasgow. This is very interesting as the overall teenage pregnancy rate is 38% per 1,000 of the population. In 2014 there were 56,725 registered births in Scotland – 863 sets of twins and  11 sets of triplets were included (BBC). Bristol came second lowest with 6% – London were the highest, with 26% of people stating they keep birth control in their bedroom drawers – take from that what you will…

Another result we found really interesting was that 5% of the UK have knives and other protective weapons in the bedside cabinet. When it comes to owning weapons for self-defence purposes, it can be a bit of a grey area – it’s also important to remember that any object can be deemed as an offensive weapon, depending on the situation.

Alongside this, 2% of people admitted to having narcotics in their bedside cabinet – the word narcotic derives from the Greek word ‘stupor’, and refers to any psychoactive substance or drug that results in morphine like effects. However, a narcotic doesn’t have to be an illegal substance – it also refers to prescription medication that has similar side effects to opium.

29% of the nation stated they wouldn’t let someone go through their bedside drawer – with 83% of those saying that the items in there are too personal. 12% of people said they keep their personal pleasure items in there, so it’s safe to say that this could be a reason as to why. 3% said there are illegal items in there – this could refer to illicit substances, offensive weapons or something else. One recipient answered, “it’s none of their goddam business!”