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Newyorker: Research studies consistently find … that adults “sleep better when given their own bed.”

Is that an accurate assessment? Do adult sleep better when they sleep alone rather than with their significant other?

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  • 3
    I assume that a lot comes down to the size of bed you're sharing, and whether one partner snores (and thus the other partner's tolerance to noise whilst they sleep).
    – Richard Ev
    Mar 12 '13 at 23:28
  • "Randall cites the work of Neil Stanley, a sleep researcher at the University of Surrey, in England, who likes to say that there’s only one good reason to share a mattress." That may help people narrow down his sources.
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Mar 13 '13 at 0:30
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    Does David K. Randall provide any sources for the research studies that consistently find this?
    – oosterwal
    Jul 31 '13 at 0:34
  • That all depends on whether your partner has the "jimmy legs" youtube.com/watch?v=EnG8jrpLJDE
    – t0x1n
    Sep 3 '14 at 17:38
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    @nocomrende : "But you asked about this." I happen to have asked 77 question on this website. I don't ask questions like this here because I seek anecdotal evidence but because of an intellectual quest for truth. This question also happen among my top ten highest voted question, with indicates that other people also find it interesting.
    – Christian
    Oct 24 '15 at 19:24
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A limited study (Dittami 2007) concluded the following:

  • "Sharing a sleeping space with a partner had negative effects on sleep in women"
  • "The sleep efficiency in men was not reduced by the presence of their partner unless sexual contact occurred"

The study was limited because:

  • "Participants involved in the study had not been in couples for long periods of time"

References

DITTAMI, J., KECKEIS, M., MACHATSCHKE, I., KATINA, S., ZEITLHOFER, J. and KLOESCH, G. (2007), Sex differences in the reactions to sleeping in pairs versus sleeping alone in humans. Sleep and Biological Rhythms, 5: 271–276. doi: 10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00320.x

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    Given the common trope of men falling asleep after sex, the laet bullet point leaves me skeptical :)
    – user5341
    Aug 28 '14 at 10:55

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