The stuff of dreams: A surprising number of adults sleep with plush animals

Tara McFeeters sleeps in a crowded bed. There’s a dory fish; a beet named Claudia; Gordon, the shark; and an octopus called Chester. “I love, love sleeping with stuffed animals,” said McFeeters, 23, of Northeast Philadelphia, a senior studying sociology remotely at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. “As I grew, the animals made me feel safe, even though the world and all the crime in it don’t. The stuffed animals became my emotional support, like petting my dog. “Every woman in college has them — for sure, so many Gen Z people all do.” Combining whimsy with a soothing, almost therapeutic eff...