Who hasn’t experienced a night punctuated by noisy breathing, snoring, or tossing and turning when sleeping with their partner? According to a 2017 study by the National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance, sleeping together can have negative repercussions on sleep quality.
A new study of 12 young couples
This German-Danish study published in the journal “Frontiers in Psychiatry” found that couples who slept together had less disturbed eye movements than when they slept alone in a large bed. They had better quality REM sleep. REM sleep is the phase of the sleep cycle when we dream and is restorative and plays a role in the maturation of the nervous system, thus “improves mental health, memory and creative problem-solving ability,” says one of the study’s authors. To confirm this conclusion, the research team will conduct the same experiment on a more diverse sample, including, for example, older people or people with a disease.
A 2017 Belgian study tells us that 82% of Belgians sleep less than the recommended 7.5 hours per night, that 23% therefore always feel tired when they get up in the morning and that 55% wake up at night at least once a week and 18% every night. It remains to be seen whether these figures can be improved by sleeping as a couple….
- The study found that couples who slept together had a more synchronized sleep rhythm.
- This may be due to the release of oxytocin, the “love hormone,” which promotes feelings of closeness and relaxation.
- The study’s authors say that their findings suggest that sleeping together may be beneficial for couples’ overall health and well-being.
I hope this is helpful!
