People who share a bed are woken up by their partner several times a night, but they do not remember most of these disorders.
Sleeping with company causes more nighttime awakenings than sleeping alone. These disturbances are often brief and forgotten until the morning, but there are strategies for dealing with the problem when it becomes more serious.
“Research shows that, subjectively, people think they sleep better together than apart, but when this is measured objectively, there is more sleep disturbance when they sleep together”, says Sean Drummondresearcher at Monash University, in Melbourne, Australia, cited by .
To explore the effects of bedsharing on couples’ sleep, Lionel Raywardfrom the Queensland University of Technology in Australia, and his colleagues carried out a systematic review of research already existing.
All the studies analyzed found evidence of disturbance caused by the partner during shared sleep, with 30 to 46% of movements of one member of the couple to be accompanied by the other.
I.e, when a person pulled the blanketschange position, stretch a leg or make other movements, the partner was also agitated.
A study carried out in a sleep laboratory, for example, recorded an average of 51 leg movements per night in participants when they slept alone, but 62 when they slept with their partner.
This translated into two more awakenings per nightdetermined through electrodes placed on the scalp to monitor participants’ brain electrical activity.
The review also included a study by Drummond’s team in which couples wore motion-sensing smartwatches while sleeping at home in the bed they shared.
On average, participants were woken up six times a night by the partner’s movements. However, on average, the following day, only if remember one of those episodeswhich suggests that most of these disturbances are mild and has a minimal effect on overall sleep quality, says Drummond.
“When both partners sleep well in general, these awakenings are probably notare not of great importance: they turn to the other side and they fall asleep again,” he says.
The most serious sleep disturbances tend to arise when one of the partners resonates or suffers from insomnia. “A person with insomnia is more likely to tossing and turning in bed or, even if she’s lying down trying to be still, it’s hard to stay perfectly still while awake, so there’s more activity and more likely to disturb your partner,” says Drummond.
These problems can sometimes lead to a “sleep divorce”, in which partners start sleeping in separate beds or rooms to avoid bothering each other.
“There’s nothing inherently unhealthy about sleeping apart, but some couples see it as a defeat for the relationship, and personally, I think it’s much better to try to solve the real sleeping problem,” says Drummond.
If one member of the couple suffers from insomnia, for example, Drummond and his team concluded that the cognitive-behavioral therapy can be beneficial, especially when partners attend sessions together. After treatment, both tend to sleep better, he says.
When the problem is hog the blankets or have different temperature preferences, Rayward and his colleagues recommend experimenting with “Scandinavian method”which consists of sharing the same bed, but using separate blankets.
Os treatments for snoring include continuous positive airway pressure machines, known by the acronym CPAPwhich keep the airways open, and mandibular advancement devicessimilar to mouthguards, made by dentists to pull the jaw forward.
“This moves the tongue forward and creates more space in the back of the throat, facilitating the entry and exit of air and reducing snoring”, says Amal Osmanresearcher at Flinders University, Australia.
Some people Amal Osmanwhich can sometimes be resolved using a backpack on bed to favor the lateral position, adds Osman.
Researchers suggest that we shouldn’t worry too much with an occasional sleep disturbance caused by other people. “The reality is that everyone wakes up a few times each night,” concludes Sean Drummond. “Nobody sleeps 100% of the time“.
