on Jan 13th, 2006Married at Heart, But Please, Sleep in Your Own Bed
Remember when sleeping in your bed meant having awesome sheets with images of your favorite TV show characters? Or better yet, if you had the kind of parents who splurged on your well-being, you got to sleep in a bed that was actually in the shape of of a spaceship or sports car. Age, of course, changes what makes for a good night’s sleep.
The worst is sleeping in the same room as someone who snores. Second might be someone who gets up about once an hour to relieve themself of that wine or scotch they drank hours ago. When things get really desperate, couples resort to the nuclear option: different beds or even different bedrooms.
Research, as usual, gives us the lowdown. So the next time you visit your children, don’t be shy about explaining why you don’t sleep with their father anymore, just utter the age old phrase, “one day you’ll understand, if you don’t already.”
According to a 2005 National Sleep Foundation survey, 23 percent of partnered adults frequently sleep solo because of their loved one’s snoring, kicking or other sleep problem. That number doesn’t include those who bed down apart because of mismatched schedules or desire for different room temperatures, or to let an exhausted spouse avoid a tyke’s wake-up calls. In fact, according to the National Sleep Foundation survey of 1,506 adults, disruptive bedmates rob their partners, on average, of 49 minutes of shut-eye each night.
Estranged Bedfellows: The Undercover Stories Of Happily Married Couples Who Love Each Other, Who ‘Sleep Together’ . . . But Have Separate Beds. Or Rooms
By Stacy Weiner
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, January 10, 2006; Page HE01