Interesting topic of discussion, I read an article about married couples spending only 1/3 of their lives sleeping together. Sleeping apart may indicate lower marital satisfaction, but it can also indicate just wanting to get a good night’s sleep.
In the first few years of a relationship, couples are willing to sacrifice comfort for intimacy and after five to six years, the couple is more interested in a good night’s sleep than they are in intimacy.
This can be a problem. According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than one in ten married Americans sleep alone. Of those with less marital satisfaction, 47% said they were sleeping less today than five years ago and more than 3/4 were likely to experience a sleep problem than those who are happily married.
One of the more obvious results of the poll was that adults in households with children got a lot less sleep. That’s really not surprising, for those of us who have children – sleep because as precious commodity.
Why Would a Married Couple Elect to Sleep Apart?
One of the most common reasons couples cite to sleep apart is that one partner or the other snores. They may also say they just really need a night of unbroken sleep. Yet, most people who snore probably snored for years before it became an ‘issue’ so why would a couple choose to sleep apart instead of together?
Experts suggest that instead of choosing to sleep apart, couples look for solutions that keep them in the same bed together. Sacrificing the intimacy and healthy emotional connection may make more of a negative impact on the marriage than a good night’s sleep will make positive.
Make Compromises
If you are having trouble sleeping together because of differing sleep patterns, try meeting somewhere in the middle. More often than not, my husband likes to go to sleep much later than I do. We split the difference, he comes to bed an hour earlier, and I go to bed an hour later.
Spooning is one of the best ways for people to sleep together. One of the more positive aspects of finding ways to sleep together is it increases your intimacy, it lowers your stress and it may help you prevent arguments. While spooning is considered one of the best positions; there are no right or wrong positions for couples to sleep in.
Sharing the marriage bed for sleep is one of the greatest intimacies and morning breath aside, who doesn’t enjoy waking up to the feeling of warmth of security of your husband or wife snuggled up to you?