A new survey released by mydeco.com has revealed that over the course of a lifetime, lounging on a sofa accounts for almost a decade of the average life.

With most people sitting on the settee for around 3 hours a day, this adds up to a massive 9.8 years! The report also suggests that most homes have a seat which is considered the best in the living room, and that men are more likely to sit in that spot. Read our survey for more findings.

Mankind's obsession with the simple couch sometimes appears to know no bounds. Over the years records for the longest, fastest, most expensive, and most accommodating sofas have been set by individuals and organisations all over the world.

In the space of two months in 2008, first BoConcept at the Aarhus Festival in Denmark, and then the Norwegian town of Sykkylven, broke the record for the world's longest sofa twice. In May, the Danish sofa measured 168 ft (51m) in length and weighed a colossal 1.4 tons, making it unfeasible for most living rooms. Then just a month later, the Norwegian sofa was built at over 61m long, begging the question, "where to put it?"

A year earlier, Marek Torowsk from London became the fastest man sitting on a sofa by steering a white leather settee to 92MPH to claim the record for the World's Fastest Sofa at a race track in Leicestershire.

Moving on to the priciest seats in history, have a look at Ron Arad's stainless steel sofa which goes on sale at Christie's in New York later in 2009, and expects to fetch in the region of $300,000. Considered to be both a sculpture and a functioning couch, this is probably one to keep the dog off!

Many records have been set for packing people into a small place, and this year a new record was set for people sitting on an ordinary sofa. Using a black leather 3 seater sofa, mydeco.com squeezed 60 people and one dog on together to claim a place in the record books. Watch the sofa world record video.

Sitting on a sofa doesn't usually feel like a challenge, especially when considering that most Britons spend a total of 10 years on the sofa during their lifetime. But to prove people will do anything for 15 minutes of fame, a pub chef from Cheltenham spent 120 hours sitting on a settee outside in the wind and rain, in order to raise money for charity. Karen Sullivan was only allowed to get up to use the bathroom and stretch every four hours.

Finally, the story of the giant "Snofa" in London's Hyde Park. On an unusually wintery day in February 2009, staff from mydeco.com left the office for a morning and scuplted a Snow sofa in the public park, complete with cushions and arms. Reports revealed the snofa was still in use 3 days later, but finally melted as the weather improved!