When you find out a married couple is sleeping in separate beds, you may assume they have issues or want a divorce.
However, in these modern times, it is all about freedom of choice, freedom of spouse, and freedom to sleep with whomever you please.
So, what’s wrong with sleeping in separate beds for a restful night’s sleep? Sleeplessness can cause couples to fight just as much as a fight will cause you not to sleep well.
Continue reading to find out 10 reasons you may want to sleep down the hall from your spouse.
10. Your Partner’s Sleeping Pattern Affects Yours
Marital spats can deprive couples of sleep, but sleeping patterns can do that too. You can both experience the backlash of insomnia, even if only one person is having issues sleeping.
In a marriage sleeping patterns track together, and when one person has chronic sleeping problems, the other is affected. Both people become cranky, which leads to other problems.
9. The Snoring Drives You Crazy
Anil Rama, MD and author of “SHUT UP and Sleep,” and Medical Director at Kaiser Permanente’s tertiary sleep medicine laboratory said, “the irregular, strange, unnatural sounds disrupt the sleeping cycle, preventing the bed partner from reaching the deep sleep that is necessary to feel alert and refreshed the next day.”
There are a lot of reasons for snoring. According to Mayo Clinic, it can stem from health-related challenges, such as allergies, nasal problems, sleep apnea or weight gain. Some people also snore when they drink heavily, which can spark another fight in the home.
Lack of sleep can also cause snoring, so if both partners are chronic snorers, you may want to start sleeping separately instead of taking a trek to the couch at 2 a.m. Also, see your doctor for underlying causes.
8. Different Sleeping Habits
If your partner’s sleeping habits don’t complement yours, you’ll both suffer. For example, one might prefer the fresh breeze coming through a window, and the other prefers air conditioning.
One might love white noise to fall asleep, while the other person loves silence. People don’t consider these things when they are courting. Now you realize that you should!
Whatever helps you sleep may disrupt someone else. If your sleep is fragmented, you may wake up irritable the next day. So give your partner a goodnight kiss and head over to the next room.
7. Your Schedules Clash
Many couples have different work schedules that make them go to bed at different hours of the night. When one partner comes to bed at 2 a.m. and disrupts your sleep, you may not be able to sleep for the rest of the night while he blissfully sleeps. For 24/7 harmony, separate rooms may be the best option.
6. Your Partner Is Too Hot
The National Sleep Foundation says the optimal temperature for sleeping is 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit. But imagine the heat two people give off when coming together under the covers.
Our internal temperature differs, so one partner may be exerting their heat onto the other. If you share a small bed or struggle to stay on your side, another room might be your best bet.
5. Enough Sleep Can Help You Lose Weight
If you are struggling to lose pounds and keep them off, insomnia may be the culprit. Many studies link lack of sleep to weight gain.
Not getting enough sleep can impact appetite hormones like leptin and ghrelin. So dream about achieving svelter form in separate rooms.
4. You Have Different Mattress Preferences
If one likes a firm mattress while the other likes it soft, it isn’t easy to compromise. Better Sleep Council reveals that your mattress can significantly impact your quality of sleep.
There are no one-size-fits-all mattresses. So instead of waking up achy, cranky and tired for that job interview, sleep in another room. That way, you’ll have your mattress of choice and sweet dreams.
3. The Blanket Stealer
If in your sleep you steal the blanket every night from your partner, you leave that person shivering and restless from the cold. So if you are a serial blanket stealer, self jail yourself in the next room. Your partner will have less fragmented sleep and warmth through the night.
2. Your Furry Friend Comes First
Many people have pets that that come with the relationship when they get married. If you and your partner have differing opinions about the dog sleeping in bed with you due to allergies, problems are bound to arise.
DR. Rama explains that “allergies cause nasal congestion, which reduces the flow of air through the nose…[which] disrupt sleep.”
Sleeping with congestion is like sleeping with weights on your breathing, the doctor said. So if you can’t reach a consensus about keeping the dog out, separate rooms may be the answer.
1. What About Sex?
Those with active sex lives fear sleeping solo. Think about it, though. The desire for sleep is different from the desire for sex.
If your partner’s sleeping habits keep you from sleeping, the last thing on your mind is sex with them. But if you’re well-rested, you are more likely to be interested.
Studies show that women who got enough sleep were more interested in sexual activities and 14% more likely to get intimate with their partners.
Sleep is the key to happiness!
So, for peace and harmony all-round, have a consensus on who will sleep in the next room from time to time. Sleep is essential to life and good health.
