The Price of Peace: Parents Say a Quiet Day Is Worth Nearly $4K

The average American would pay $2,521 for a day of peace and quiet — while parents would pay $1,147 more.

That’s according to a new survey of 2,000 Americans (30% of whom are parents), which explored the importance of quality time to recharge and the barriers to getting enough of it.
Results showed the average respondent only gets 9.5 hours per month to themselves with the biggest barriers being family obligations (50%), work commitments (32%) and financial constraints (24%).

Social obligations (22%) and guilt for finally getting free time (13%) were also listed as reasons respondents don’t get the alone time they crave.

A little over half of respondents (53%) said they need more alone time than they’re currently getting. And the lengths respondents said they’ll go to were surprising.

Nearly 38% of respondents admit to lying to a partner, friends or family in order to get some time to themselves.

The most common lie shared among participants was “I’m not feeling well” (54%), followed by “I have a lot of work to do” (40%), “I have a headache” (33%), “I have an appointment” (33%) and “My phone’s about to die, so I can’t talk” (32%).

The survey, conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Apple Vacations (https://www.applevacations.com), pinpointed the dollar amount people attribute to certain elements of relaxation and found the average parent polled values a lazy morning to themselves at $325.

It’s no wonder then that people would be willing to pay an average of $339.8 for just one extra hour of sleep.

And the feeling extends to vacations, with 40% of respondents saying they’ve booked a trip specifically for peace and quiet.

“In a world where silence feels like a luxury, it’s clear people aren’t just craving quiet,” said Dana Studebaker, Vice President of Marketing, Consumer Brands, Apple Vacations.

“They’re willing to invest in it. Everyone deserves moments that are truly their own.”

How would respondents spend this precious, uninterrupted time alone?

One in six said they’d be happy doing anything as long as it wasn’t a chore or obligation. And one in eight said they’d want to binge TV or movies (13%) or spend the day at the beach (12%).

Interestingly, two-thirds agreed (66%) that visiting family does not count as a restful vacation.

“When people are willing to spend hundreds — or even thousands — just for a little peace and quiet, it says a lot about how rare true rest has become,” added Michael Lowery, Head of Global Consumer Brands, Apple Vacations. “Sometimes the most valuable thing you can give yourself is time without expectation.”