Although it is somewhat obvious that a significant percentage of adults No usually sleep alone, the science of sleep has still many details to understand on the influence of being with a partner at the time of rest and the quality of sleep.
Moving in this direction was precisely the objective of the analysis of a survey carried out by a work group from the University of Arizona that verified the responses of 1,007 adults. And between the associations of behaviors and the significant data they found, a fact jumped out that for some will be obvious and, for others, contradictory. In summary, the respondents they shared bed with an affectionate partner or in the context of a romantic relationship, during most of their nights, they reported suffer lower percentages of severe insomnia, less fatigue and, on average, enjoy rest time. All this comparing the same sleep quality parameters with those reported by those people who said they did not share their bed with their partner.
The work was presented a few days ago at the event “Sleep 2022”, an academic meeting organized by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and published in the specialized scientific journal sleeping.
To define “sharing a bed”, the response on the frequency of sleeping together in the previous 30 days was evaluated. And regarding the benefit of doing it with a partner/spouse, it was compared to those who stated sleeping with children, a pet, another family member and sleeping alone.
Between the “Benefits” associated (which is not the same as caused) by sleeping most nights next to a “partner” in the same bed, is that the total time before falling asleep was less, they stayed asleep longer and the risk of falling asleep was reduced. suffer from sleep apnea. It is also possible to follow other simple tips and advice to rest better.
But – there is always a but – all this happens when the couple involved cShare an “affective-romantic” environment”. It’s that when these same questions were asked of those who slept with, say, a child most nights, the data reversed: They reported a greater tendency toward insomnia, a higher risk of sleep apnea, and less control over its quality. total.
Other data highlighted in the paper showed that sleeping with a partner was associated with lower scores on measures of depression, anxiety and stress. And sleeping alone was associated with higher depression scores and lower satisfaction with social relationships.
“Resting with a romantic partner demonstrates sleep health benefits, including reduced risk of apnea, severity of insomnia, and overall improvement in sleep quality,” said study co-author Brandon Fuentes, a researcher in the Department of psychiatry at this university.
In summary, reports indicate that adults who share a bed with a partner or spouse sleep better than those who sleep alone. And that’s without even referring to the other perks typically associated with bed-sharing.
