Three in 10 American adults are still afraid of the dark, according to new research.<\/p>\n
The survey of 2,000 general population Americans revealed 29% of respondents admitted they still have a fear of the dark, with men slightly more likely than women to have this fear (33% vs. 26%).<\/p>\n
A quarter of respondents (24%) sleep with a nightlight, potentially to help combat this, while 10% sleep with the lights on, with twice as many men doing this (15% vs. 7%).<\/p>\n
One in 10 (11%) also still sleeps with a stuffed animal or other comfort item.<\/p>\n
The survey revealed 29% of respondents admitted they still have a fear of the dark, with men slightly more likely than women to have this fear (33% vs. 26%). zef art \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Avocado Green Mattress, the survey looked at how scary movies \u2014 especially in the lead-up to Halloween \u2014 can affect this fear of the dark.<\/p>\n
Overall, 28% of respondents said they \u201clove\u201d watching horror movies and try to watch as many as they can.<\/p>\n
Men were more likely to love horror movies (33% vs. 24%) \u2014 and on the other end of the scale, one in five women (21%) said they \u201chate\u201d horror movies (compared to 7% of men).<\/p>\n
For those who watch horror movies, women were more likely to be scared both during and after the movie (41% vs. 28%).<\/p>\n
But after watching a horror movie, men were more likely to get nightmares \u2014 with 24% admitting they \u201calways\u201d or \u201coften\u201d have nightmares, compared to 13% of women. <\/p>\n
Three in 10 American adults are still afraid of the dark, according to new research. SWNS \/ Avocado Green MAtress<\/p>\n
Overall, 28% of respondents said they \u201clove\u201d watching horror movies and try to watch as many as they can. SWNS \/ Avocado Green MAtress<\/p>\n
An increase in nightmares wasn\u2019t the only way horror movies impact Americans\u2019 sleep, either.<\/p>\n
Data found after watching a horror movie, many respondents were more likely to wake up during the night (28%), have lower-quality sleep (22%), and sleep for fewer hours (12%).<\/p>\n
\u201cWith everything in October\u2019s \u2018spooky season\u2019 \u2014 from horror movies to haunted houses and other Halloween celebrations \u2014 it\u2019s no wonder that some Americans aren\u2019t sleeping as well this month,\u201d said Laura Scott, director of brand marketing at Avocado Green Mattress. \u201cPeople may be staying up later to celebrate in the weeks leading up to Halloween, and especially if they\u2019re watching horror movies, our data shows their sleep may suffer as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n
Men were more likely to love horror movies \u2014 and on the other end of the scale, one in five women said they \u201chate\u201d horror movies. SWNS \/ Avocado Green MAtress<\/p>\n
The survey also looked at Daylight Saving Time, which ends on Sunday, Nov. 2, asking respondents about any expected impact on their sleep.<\/p>\n
Respondents were unclear about the time change \u2014 32% incorrectly believed an hour of sleep would be lost, while 13% weren\u2019t sure.<\/p>\n
And a fifth of Americans surveyed said it would take more than a week for them to adjust to the time change.<\/p>\n
Data found after watching a horror movie, many respondents were more likely to wake up during the night, have lower-quality sleep, and sleep for fewer hours. SWNS \/ Avocado Green MAtress<\/p>\n
Thirty-nine percent said the trade-off \u2014 an extra hour of sleep for less light in the evenings \u2014 is worth it, but 62% said they would get rid of the time change altogether if they could.<\/p>\n
A study in 2024 found similar results: 35% said the trade-off was worth it, while 59% would prefer to stop changing the clocks for Daylight Saving Time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeyond Halloween and horror movies, we also have the end of Daylight Saving Time to prepare for in the coming weeks,\u201d said Scott. \u201cIt\u2019s no surprise to us that the majority of people surveyed would rather get rid of the time change \u2014 not only did our data also reflect this sentiment last year, but we understand how difficult it can be to adjust, even when it\u2019s just an hour change.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith everything in October\u2019s \u2018spooky season\u2019 \u2014 from horror movies to haunted houses and other Halloween celebrations \u2014 it\u2019s no wonder that some Americans aren\u2019t sleeping as well this month,\u201d said Laura Scott, director of brand marketing at Avocado Green Mattress. terovesalainen \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking sure to get a good night\u2019s sleep in the days leading up to the time change can help your body adjust \u2014 as well as switching your clocks as soon as you get up, to help your mind focus on the \u2018new\u2019 time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Survey methodology:<\/p>\n
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was commissioned by Avocado Green Mattress and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Sept. 17\u2013 22, 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three in 10 American adults are still afraid of the dark, according to new research. The survey of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,43790,103520,84,890,393,394,103521,409],"class_list":{"0":"post-213311","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-halloween","11":"tag-halloween-movies","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-lifestyle","14":"tag-mental-health","15":"tag-mentalhealth","16":"tag-nightmare-fuel","17":"tag-sleep"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}