Michael Solender and his wife have been together for 42 years. They slept in the same bed for the first 10, taking to separate rooms after that. Their sleep separation was due to his developing chronic and heavy snoring that eventually led to a diagnosis of sleep apnea and his use of a CPAP machine, and they kept sleeping apart after the machine eliminated his snoring because he's typically warm at night and she's usually cold. Snoring, temperature variations, cover stealers, and tossing and turning often lead to partners sleeping separately. Other issues are also in play, including illness, different work shifts, and partners who go to bed and get up at different times. And specialists see some benefits to the practice of spouses sleeping apart, the AP reports.
More than one-third of Americans said they occasionally or consistently sleep in another room to accommodate a bed partner, according to an American Academy of Sleep Medicine study last year. Men are the ones who usually hit the sofa or guest room. And, perhaps surprisingly, it's millennials who do it most, rather than older people. Dr. Seema Khosla, a pulmonologist and spokesperson for the academy, said achieving adequate sleep, which is usually seven to eight hours for adults, is important for healthy relationships. Studies indicate that people who consistently experience poor sleep are more likely to experience conflict with their partners, said Khosla, who is the medical director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep in Fargo. (Want to start sleeping separately? The experts have some tips here.)
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