Ikea plans to sell baby soothers for adults - and plush toys can provide comfort, assesses psychologist

Ikea to Sell Beds for Adults - and Stuffed Animals Can Provide Comfort, Says Psychologist

At the end of the month, one can buy a 100 centimeter tall teddy bear at Ikea. It is not just for children, but also for adults.

Teddy bears can also be for adults and have beneficial effects on people with low self-esteem, according to previous research. (Graphic: Nathalie Nystad, DR. Photo: Colourbox) 31 minutes ago

Maybe you still have one of your favorite teddy bears from childhood stored away in a box on the attic - or maybe it's still sleeping by your side at night.

Clearly, there is an interest in having a teddy bear at home, even if one is no longer a child.

In the end of January, Ikea is launching a teddy bear that caters to both children and adults. This is reported by Politiken (https://politiken.dk/kultur/art10632878/Hvis-du-har-en-t%C3%A6t-tilknytning-til-en-bamse-som-barn-siger-det-noget-om-dig-resten-af-livet ) and TV2 (https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2026-01-08-ikea-lancerer-bamse-til-voksne-kan-skabe-ny-trend-siger-forsker ), who have spoken with Ikea's development chief Karin Blindh Pedersen.

Furniture giant Ikea has designed a 100 centimeter tall teddy bear that can be hugged, but also used as, for example, a pillow in a sofa.

According to the development chief, the teddy bear is a response to an analysis of a more uncertain world, where more will seek comfort and security at home.

- We want to reach down to what makes you feel safe and connected to something, says Karin Blindh Pedersen to TV2.

Here you can see the teddy bear, which is 100 centimeters tall. (Photo: © Ikea)

And comfort can a teddy bear be a part of providing, says psychologist Rikke Papsøe.

- If one needs extra comfort or the feeling of something being there by one's side - if one, for example, doesn't have a partner and misses one - it can be nice to have the feeling of comfort by one's side through a soft teddy bear.

- It can also be pure stubbornness to hold on to something from childhood. That's also something some people do, she says.

Read also: When pain professor broke his arm, it couldn't be numbed. Now he hopes we can learn from his experience (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/viden/kroppen/da-smerteprofessor-braekkede-armen-kunne-den-ikke-bedoeves-nu-haaber-han-vi )

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Would recommend to patients

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A questionnaire survey from 2019 among 2,000 Britons showed that a third of those surveyed (https://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/jan/05/bears-lifeline-adults-who-sleep-with-soft-toys ) sleep with a soft toy every night.

There are no similar figures for the Danes, but research has previously (https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/touch-may-alleviate-existential-fears-for-people-with-low-self-esteem.html ) shown that stroking a soft toy can help people with low self-esteem and alleviate their fear of death.

Research on the use of teddy bears by adults is generally relatively limited, but Bobby Zachariae, who is a professor at the Psychological Institute at Aarhus University and the cancer department at Aarhus University Hospital, can easily imagine that it could be comforting for some.

- If there is an effect, it can probably be due to several mechanisms. For one thing, a soft teddy bear can be thought to recall the feelings of safety from childhood, which were associated with a teddy bear or another stuffed animal.

- For another, it is possible that the physical contact with something soft works calming. One can, for example, trigger the hormone oxytocin, which among other things works stress-reducing. Finally, there may be a certain placebo effect, which, for example, stems from positive expectations, he says.

Rikke Papsøe could easily recommend using a teddy bear to patients who suffer from anxiety or have trouble sleeping.

- When one, for example, is affected by anxiety, all means that do not harm oneself or others are for reducing anxiety.

She points to research that points to a large potential for pets in connection with stress, anxiety, and loneliness.

- So if one doesn't have the opportunity to acquire a pet, and it can do something good for one to sleep with a teddy bear, then it is definitely something to recommend, says Rikke Papsøe.

There is already a market for so-called weighted teddy bears, which with a little extra weight are supposed to create more calm and security for those who use them.

The theory behind it is that contact with a smooth, heavy weight can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the part of the nervous system that reduces stress and promotes relaxation. It can probably also contribute to improving sleep, says Bobby Zachariae.

Together with colleagues, he is involved in a project that is investigating exactly that. The results of the research in the field are, however, so far unclear, he says.

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Famous politician had a teddy bear his whole life

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In addition to being considered childish or perhaps even embarrassing to use a teddy bear, Rikke Papsøe cannot immediately think of any negative consequences of it.

If one thinks it is embarrassing, one might be able to console oneself with the thought that even famous people have had teddy bears their whole lives.

This was, for example, the case for former foreign minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, who was open about the fact that his teddy bear Nikolaj followed him his whole life.

- See, a teddy bear is simply the best friend a politician can have. I would like to explain why. Because a teddy bear can whisper all one's innermost secrets into its ear. A teddy bear does not write down memories afterwards, has the former politician said (https://skagennyt.dk/uffe-ellemanns-bamse-overdraget-til-skagens-bamsemuseum/ ).

Here is an archive photo of Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, which shows a teddy bear slip peeking out. (Photo:Morten Juhl/NF/Ritzau Scanpix. Graphic: Rosa Uldall, DR)

Uffe Ellemann-Jensen died in June 2022, and the teddy bear is now at Skagens Bamsemuseum.

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