No sex please, we're techies!

Our love of gadgets, gizmos and the web could be responsible for more interruptus than coitus, according to research released last week by the Sleep Council.

A quarter of British couples say they regularly sleep separately and eight out of 10 admit to fiddling with hi-tech devices before bed, claims the survey conducted to mark National Bed Month this month.

The bedtime routine generally consists of brushing teeth with an electric toothbrush, followed by setting an alarm on a BlackBerry or mobile for almost a quarter (22 per cent) of us.

"Busy night time routines are driving couples' bedtimes and even their bedrooms apart," said Jessica Alexander of the Sleep Council, "Nine per cent of those questioned admitted to always sleeping separately from their partner."

A third of us are happy to call people and send and receive texts while in bed, according to the research which surveyed more than 1,000 people. While one in five people use bed as an excuse for social networking using sites such as Facebook, gaming or listening to music on MP3 players.

"Our survey results provide a pretty accurate snapshot of our lives today," added Alexander. "It also shows more than half of us (52 per cent) regularly feel so tired at work that we would like to go home, with one in eight people feeling that way three or four times a week."

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