If you have a partner, do you sleep separately at night?

Question

http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/sleeping-apart

Sleeping apart is a growing trend as folks begin to recognize that their rest is important enough to sleep in separate beds/bedrooms. How about you?

Answer 1

I'm willing to bet that my husband and I have the most unusual
sleeping arrangement of possibly anyone around. Due to
both of us having back problems with arthritus now, we have
found there is more support and sleeping ability in
low lying recliner chairs. My husband was using one out of
desperation, when no bed we bought, offered comfort
for a full nights' sleep. So he fell asleep in the chair one night
and he hasn't slept on anything else since. Make that five years to be exact. So I had our fairly new queen sized, $1,000
mattress all to myself. And then, last year, I too started having
additional problems with my back and side following a car
accident. And I couldn't get up onto the mattress to even lay
down. So I started to sleep on the couch, until a leg nerve forced me to use my recliner to sleep on as well. So we have his and hers recliners in the living room, as our beds. I will sometimes use the couch if I want to sleep on my side in more comfort and use the back of the couch for support. But I
have the chair as my standby for sure. So it does double
duty, as a TV chair, where I can put my feet up and ease the
swelling of edema in my legs as well. So now we are officially 'bedless' since selling our bed to a thankful young couple just starting out. They couldn't beat our low low price anywhere for new, in half the quality. So we probably are starting a whole new concept in back comfort sleeping that is more representative of the future. We've
turned more couples on to this. And they are using chairs to
sleep on overnight too. You definitely have the better back
support than a bed offers, unless it's a hospital type that
you can position to back comfort. So we're glad to
have this alternative option for a decent nights rest. I'm sure
when more and more people 'think' of this, they will follow the
same pattern to finding a better nights' sleep.

Answer 2

Mostly I find the McCann questions tasteless and I try to stay away on here, but this question caught my attention because now things are getting totally out of hand. Your presentation of the question relates so well to my own opinions. I find it incomprehensible that the media and the McCann critics can't give this poor couple a break. Many couples separate for longer than a nights sleep because of enormous stress. As for sleeping separately for one night after a tiff, well, it is so normal, this happens in most marriages, indeed only the strong ones can stand up to this kind of tiff. It's what happens in normal marriages. Anyway none of this will bring Madeleine back, so what is it all in aid of??

Answer 3

When I'm 'on the road' I find I have a hard time getting to bed, let alone falling asleep at night. When I'm out of town on a project, I don't seem to sleep the night through like I do with my wife alongside. My wife and I ALWAYS go to bed snuggled next to each other. My grandparents spent the last 10 years or so sleeping in separate beds because my grandfather became a SLINGER. He'd sling his arms around at night and after a few black eyes and bloody noses, my grandmother demanded twin beds.

Answer 4

We are in separate rooms. For over 25 years! He snores and has to have a TV going all night. I toss and turn and need what little sleep I can get. Many people think, not sleeping together is death for a sex life...quite the opposite. We get along a LOT better, after having a good night's sleep. Besides...sex doesn't always happen in bed ;-)

Answer 5

There's a good case for sleeping apart and many reasons why some people do it. I am a very restless and light sleeper and my wife wakes me up and then I can't get back to sleep again, added to which I have had radiotherapy and that means I need to go to the bathroom at least four times in the night, so although we start off together I invariably go to the other room later on.

Answer 6

Past tense! I was married for 45 years, Husband died 10
years ago. Reading these answers, How times do change,
We started out in a double bed (largest size in that era) Got a king size as soon as they came out. Know now he had sleep
ab-nee (sp) he was a very active dreamer, and a few time
sleep walker. Sleeping with him was an adventure I am glad I did not miss, the now memories are precious to only me!
Only time we slept a part when he was in drafted army, or either one of us was on a trip or in hospital. There were times I would head to a sofa or another bed if I was over tired and
his snoring would not cease before I feel asleep. But those were few, considering the total years. After he died it took too
many months to adjust sleeping with out him. I'd do the same
if I had it to do over again, Still miss him at my side, but it's less in tense. When he was in basic training at Fort Leanord
wood, visited him a couple week-ends, twin beds in the guest
barracks, we slept in the same bed did not push them together. Thanks for the Q, brought back forgotten humorous and pleasent memories, I am glad I did not miss and glad he could not sleep with out me.

Answer 7

Finally! For appearance sake think of all the people who haven't had a good sleep in years. Mine can snore louder than a lawn mower. We each sleep separately now. Makes it better all around. No ones cranky because of lack o sleep syndrome.

Answer 8

I know several couples like Shari who sleep in recliners due to back and body problems.
I confess it took me years to be able to stay in bed with my hubby. He likes to snuggle. I had slept alone for quite a few years and with fibro was used to sleeping at weird angles to accomodate my pain.
He persistently encouraged me to come back to bed after I get up and read rest flop around all over the house. So I would slide back into bed and out of many times a night.
Now I still get up and roam the house or read in living room but I come back to bed.

Answer 9

We started with a double bed. After being thrown off the bed a zillion times cause he kept inching over and me not liking to sleep with arms and legs wrapped around me,we got twin beds and put them side to side. I also used to wake up freezing since he wrapped himself up in all the covers,so the solution was make up the beds separately and keep them side by side. Its worked for 30 yrs, now he is ill and needs a hospital bed and they wanted to put it in my dining room, I said no, so we took out his bed from the bedrm and put the hospital bed right next to mine,we started off together and we will end up together until there is no longer an us.

Answer 10

My husband worked the night shift for 30 years,so we both got used to sleeping alone. When he retired , his body was still on nights, so he stays up watching tv and sleeps in his own bed and I need my sleep at night so I can get up with my grandaughter and get her off to school. We are 64 and both snore! or so I'm told.