14 DAY TRIAL // We’ve often heard that the key to a perfectly functional and lasting marriage, or any other type of relationship, for that matter, is communication and openness. While this still remains true, sleep expert Dr. Neil Stanley is telling people that their marriage cannot work if they and their partners share the same bed at night. The explanation for this is simple, as the Daily Mail states: a couple don't get a good night’s rest and, in time, this will make the relationship deteriorate.
Speaking at the British Science Festival, Dr. Stanley, who lives by his own rule and doesn’t share a room with his wife for the duration of the night, stresses, though, that neither partner should relocate if they sleep well. However, if they wake up in the morning feeling beat and more tired than the night before, no matter how much they love their partner / spouse, they must consider the option of relocating for the night, since poor sleep increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, while also representing an important factor in the divorce decision.
“If you sleep perfectly well together, then don’t change. But don’t be afraid to relocate. You then put in this person who makes noise, punches, kicks and gets up to go to the loo in the middle of the night, is it any wonder you are not getting a good night’s sleep? Poor sleep increases the risk of depression, heart disease, stroke, respiratory failure and increases the risk of divorce and suicidal behavior.” Dr. Stanley argues.
According to the expert, sleeping is the most selfish thing we can do and, no matter how much we tell ourselves we like to feel our loved one close by, we are not really aware of his or her presence during the night. Moreover, the appearance of the single marital bed is to be found right about the time of the Industrial Revolution, when couples moved to towns and were forced to come up with an ingenious method to deal with the problem of reduced space. Until then, Dr. Stanley says, it was not uncommon for married couples to sleep in separate rooms, which was ideal for their health and, at the same time, their relationship.
“We all know what it is like to sleep in a bed with somebody and have a cuddle. But at one point you say, ‘I’m going to go to sleep now.’ Why not at that point just take yourself down the landing? Intimacy is important for emotional health. But good sleep is important for physical, emotional and mental health. Getting a good night’s sleep is something we should all aspire to.” Dr. Stanley also says.