Do adults still sleep with Teddy Bears, or stuffed animals, or favorite blankies?

Maybe. If I was so inclined I would use a body pillow with my favorite anime girl printed on the case.

N O !

It’s to alleviate carpal tunnel I tell ya – that’s why!

I had a therapist tell me to go out and buy the biggest stuffed animal I could afford. I needed comforting at the time and it worked. It was a bear that was about 3 feet tall. I slept with it more often than not into my 40’s. I also hugged it when I needed to cry, and he came to the hospital with me when I had open heart surgery at age 50. I eventually gave him to a little neighbor boy. It was almost as tall as he was and he loved it!

3 years ago I discovered that wrapping up in a microfiber blanket is extremely comforting. So much so that I now do it every night. I also like to wrap my arms around a giant pillow.

It fills a need I didn’t even know I had.

I have my queen flat hugging pillow. I hug all night.

My husband sleeps with a favorite pillow. When we were 5 years into our marriage I insisted he get rid of the childhood pillow he had, because it was falling apart. He uses a different pillow now, but the pillow cases are flannel, which was the material of the old pillow’s pillow cases. I made the cases for him. I bought the fabric and sewed them.

I don’t have anything like that, I never did.

I have a stuffed Rhino on my nightstand that my daughter gave me many years ago. I don’t sleep with him but he’s always there.

I’m sure there are still young adults that do. When my daughter came back from College and moved out of my home she took all her stuffed animals. She had a huge stuffed bear the size of a person and she still has him even after marriage. The bear just sleeps in another room and has been replaced by 2 dogs and a husband.
I don’t see it any different than sleeping with a body pillow. Though I suppose it would’ve been weirder if she was sleeping with a smaller bear, I also had a favorite blanket that I left home with when I got married. It wasn’t for security but for warmth and softness. I had a years-long habit of rubbing my foot on a soft blanket to fall asleep soundly. It had to be the right amount of softness or I would take a while of falling asleep. Later I replaced the blanket with the hair on my husband’s leg. LOL

It wasn’t nothing about feeling safe or not but rather it was a nighttime ritual that guaranteed quick sleep. I also had a teddy bear, but there was no emotional attachment to it. But there were memories of a time past.

Now if a person is unable to travel or function without these things on trips or something then that is where its a problem. But I think people generally all have rituals that help them sleep better at night.

Of course some do. I know someone who does (not me) and it’s clearly part of her coping from trauma.

I gave up my stuffed animals when I left home at 19. I do have a blanket that I keep in arms length on my bed…NOT because it’s my favorite blankie, but because it’s comfortable all year around. I’ve gotten to the age where I stay cold. In the summer, it’s light enough to keep me warm without being hot. In the winter it keeps me snug warm & comfortable.

Since my husband passed, I’m NOT looking to date, so I don’t care what anyone thinks about my sleeping habits!!! When he was still here with me I didn’t need a blanket as he kept me naturally warm without needing a blanket!!!

I’ve had a few girlfriends who owned stuffed animals as adults, but I NEVER asked them if they slept with them as I felt that was NONE of my business. So, I have absolutely NO clue if they ever slept with them…or when they stopped!!! Don’t remember dating any guys with stuffed animals nearby.

I dont sleep with a plushie. But I have Sonic The Hedgehog plushie on my desk with other items branded with characters from the series

I’d like to use a body pillow but Rick would be jealous.

No. I will add that I sleep badly, and never considered this.

Some do.

Adults have the option to do WTF they want; including trying to unfairly shame people for their choices. And also including judging people for trying to unfairly shame people.

I still own my old teddy bear, but I don’t sleep with it.

I read recently that up to 20% of German adults not only sleep with a stuffed animal, but even take it with them on vacation. It didn’t surprise me. The older I get, the more I feel that the majority of adults are quite tense and anxious. I’m happy for everyone who remembers a useful coping skill from childhood. Primates are naturally comforted by hugging soft and furry things, no shame in that. Is it really more mature to comfort yourself with ice cream, alcohol, or mindless TV than by cuddling with a bear?

That said, I don’t currently sleep with a stuffed animal. There’s often a living dog or two in my bed, and usually a human as well. But I only stopped sleeping with my childhood bear because he’s falling apart. He now sits in my wardrobe. I have a couple other stuffed animals: A friendly-looking crocodile I got during very stressful pandemic times. A small black dog who still makes me feel better when I’m sad because I got him during a childhood crisis. And a ridiculous green monster/cow/hippo that my husband named “Dr. Green”. His practice is in our bedroom, which is very inconvenient because he talks about everybody’s ailments in an annoying voice and likes to wake me up by jumping around on me.

May I add that it’s also better than drinking yourself to sleep or having to medicate?

I’m sleeping in my wheelchair on the street, so it is not feasible.
However, a sweet man gave me a sleeping bag he used to use when camping.
I kept it rolled up until the temp got to freezing. Each night I fell asleep hugging it.

I have a teddy bear my mom gave me for valentines before she died and I occasionally sleep with it when I miss her too much.
Carrying it arpund everywhere has never crossed my mind but its fun to imagine a country of plushie fans ha!

@Patty_Melt What’s gone on with you – but only if you care to share it.

I’ve heard adults admit to this. As for me, I do not.

My daughter tells me, and I’ve heard it from some of my students, that it’s not uncommon for college students to have and sleep with plushies in the dorms. Pillow Pets, plush blankets, and standard stuffed animals.

I agree with @KNOWITALL’S sentiment. We might be a better world if we allowed ourselves such comforts.

@kritiper You just won my heart with that answer.