You need that divorce…expeditiously
Sleep problems and relationship issues often occur simultaneously, as poor sleep decreases empathy, making couples all the more likely to be argumentative (a study by Paracelsus Medical University in Germany revealed). So could you and your partner be due for a sleep divorce?
A good sleep is so crucial, not only for better performance in various areas in your life, but also for mood regulation. I for one am an advocate for the “respect the sanctity of sleep” movement.
So you can imagine the horror and pure disbelief I experienced the day a friend brazenly confessed her dislike for sleep to me;
We spend 25 years of our lives just sleeping…it’s a waste of time, she revealed
This was surely an attempt to recruit me on her journey to boycott sleep. However, with sleep being my favourite non-activity (i’m sure this resonates with a lot of you), my bed, accordingly, is my safe space. So the thought of this sacred nest being compromised because I have suddenly married, is certainly the stuff of nightmares.
Why should I compromise my sleep for an unscientific social construct of sleeping together…when Sleep is as important as diet and exercise, says sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley.
That’s right, the pressure to yield to the social convention of sleeping in the same bed as your partner is slowly, but surely letting up, as a recent study from the National Bed Federation(NBF) reveals the so called “sleep divorce” is on the rise. The study showed that 15% of British couples these days now choose to sleep apart, with 9 out of 10 of them doing so in separate rooms.
You may think this phenomenon is just now surfacing, but you wouldn’t be more wrong. Sleeping in separate chambers was the practice of only the upper class in the 20th century, as sharing beds was considered undesirable up until the 1950s. It is still followed by the Royal family today and remains an option mostly afforded to those who have the means to repurpose that extra room.
But naturally, there are fears that following this practice could distance people from their other half.
But fear not!
It’s revealed that because sleeping apart actually increases your quality of sleep, as you are less likely to be disturbed by the sleeping habits of your partner(the NBF reported that in fact, 36% of women and 38% of men admit snoring to be the leading reason for separating when bedtime came around), your mood improves greatly, ensuring you’re less irritable during the day, which means that it becomes less likely that you entertain a lover’s spat.
In fact, sleep doctor Michael Breus has revealed that a sleep divorce can actually “ reignite sex lives that were bordeline dormant!”
So, is sleep divorce on the agenda for you?
