The average hotel mattress has over 2,000 people sleeping on it in its lifetime according to the latest findings from Relaxsan, the 'No Springs!' Italian mattress company.

Hotel occupancy in the UK was 65 per cent in December 2005*, meaning that over a year each room had someone sleeping in it for 237 days. The lifetime of a standard mattress is ten years. So, over the lifetime of one hotel mattress, 2,375 people will have slept on it.

The typical London hotel mattress has 2,512 people sleeping on it in its ten year lifetime. London hotels had 69 per cent occupancy in December – the equivalent to 251 people sleeping in each room a year.

Regional hotels will see 2,244 people sleeping on one of their mattresses over the next ten years. With occupancy in December up to 62 per cent, each mattress in a regional hotel will have 224 people sleeping on it over a year.

Robert Badman, UK Head of Sales, Relaxsan, said: "It is amazing how many people we effectively share a bed with after staying in a hotel for just one night. Short of never staying away from home however, there is little we can do about this.

"Nevertheless in the home there are steps we can take in bed hygiene. It is important that we change our mattresses at least every ten years. Not only is sanitation an issue, but changes in our bodies over the years mean that we should also reassess whether or not our mattresses are still effectively meeting our needs," Badman concludes.

Relaxsan's tips on choosing the right mattress