Do Kentuckians Wear Pajamas to Bed or… Not?

Today on the WBKR morning show, my cohost Mary-Katherine Maddox and I shared this meme we saw the other day on Facebook. As you can see, the meme defines the hilariously made up word 'pajamaphile' as someone who puts on their pajamas the second they get home. That's pretty funny and I have to admit it. The first thing I do when I get home is change clothes. I take off my work clothes and get comfortable. For me, it's not pajamas. It's a t-shirt, shorts and sometimes a hoodie.

Hey! Blame the fact that I grew up watching Mister Roger's Neighborhood. If you ever watched that show, you know exactly what I am talking about. What's the first thing Mr. Roger's did when he walked into his house singing this theme song? Yep! He changed clothes!

I totally get it, Fred! I am right there with you.

But talking about 'pajamaphiles' during our show got me thinking about pajamas. I wonder how many people actually wear them. Look! I have been sleeping naked since high school. I can't tell you the last time I owned anything remotely resembling pajamas other than my Golden Girls pajama pants that I wear in public instead of bed.

So, what about my fellow Kentuckians? What are they wearing to bed? Are they birthday suiting it like me or are they actually pajamaphiles? The folks at Style Seat, in a 2023 study, provided some answers. They surveyed over 2,000 Americans and asked them, "What do you wear to bed?" The goal of the study was to find out just how stylish folks in the U.S. are while they're sleeping.

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There were some interesting findings. I alluded to one of them above. As it turns out, 56% of respondents admit they haven't changed what they wear to bed since they were kids. 11% of my fellow Americans are sleeping naked like me and, yes! I have been doing that since I was a kid. Also, 60% of Americans admit that what they wear to bed is "worn out" and "old."

What's the most popular sleepwear in Kentucky? As it turns out, we're just, well, average. We're doing what the majority of Americans are doing. The majority of folks in the Commonwealth prefer to wear a t-shirt/tank and shorts to bed. We dress for bed like we're going to the gym and that pretty much brings this full circle. While I personally am not a textbook 'pajamaphile', a t-shirt and shorts are precisely what I change into as soon as I get home. According to what we've learned about the sleeping habits of my fellow Kentuckians, it looks like I'm ready for bed!