Two in a bed: The influence of couple sleeping and chronotypes on relationship and sleep. An overview

Abstract

Objective: To summarize research on couple sleeping with respect to gender-specific differences and chronotype. Methods: Systematic review of the literature. Results: Millions of adults around the world share their beds with a partner. This may be an expression of intimacy and attachment and tends to intensify romantic relationships. Yet, couple sleeping still has underestimated implications for the quality of the relationship, quality of sleep and for physical and psychological health which are not consistently positive. Implications for research and therapy are discussed. Conclusions: Despite the people involved perhaps not even being aware of their nocturnal interactions, it is important that sleeping together becomes a subject of discussion. Abbreviations: REM: rapid eye movement; QOL: quality of life; OSA: obstructive sleep apnea; CPAP: continuous positive airway pressure

Human-Animal Co-Sleeping: An Actigraphy-Based Assessment of Dogs’ Impacts on Women’s Nighttime Movements

“…Co-sleeping is a common human behavior that reflects a variety of cultural, social, and psychological phenomena [1]. This appears consistent, regardless of whether the sleeping partner is a human adult, human child, or non-human animal [2].…”

“…Further, individuals who sleep with a human partner turn out the lights earlier, and women fall asleep faster when their human partner is present [16]. However, there are many physiological (e.g., circadian rhythms, monophasic/polyphasic sleep) and behavioral (e.g., toilet breaks, noise, and movement) factors that can lead to sleep disruption [1,17]. Actigraphic measures of sleep efficiency (i.e., the ratio of time spent asleep in a night as compared to the time spent in bed) and self-report measures of sleep quality suggest that women are more adversely affected by bed-sharing with adult partners than men, possibly because, across human history, bedsharing has typically occurred between mothers and their highly dependent infants [18].…”

“…Actigraphic measures of sleep efficiency (i.e., the ratio of time spent asleep in a night as compared to the time spent in bed) and self-report measures of sleep quality suggest that women are more adversely affected by bed-sharing with adult partners than men, possibly because, across human history, bedsharing has typically occurred between mothers and their highly dependent infants [18]. Thus, despite the many benefits of couple (human-human) co-sleeping, its effects on sleep quality and physical and mental health are not entirely positive [1].…”

“…Dog owners frequently report that the psychological benefits of co-sleeping outweigh the sleep disturbances and dog behavioral problems that might also arise from it [19]. The same is true for human-human co-sleepers [1]. Additionally, like their human-human co-sleeper counterparts, many pet owner co-sleepers believe their pets help them relax and feel more secure, thereby enabling them to sleep better [3,[19][20][21].…”

The role of couple sleep concordance in sleep quality: Attachment as a moderator of associations

“…According to attachment theory, romantic partners serve as an important source for feelings of safety and security (Hazan & Shaver, 1987), especially during times of vulnerability. Thus, when couples are sleep concordant they may perceive their sleep as subjectively better (Richter et al, 2016) due to added felt security, despite increases in movements and disturbances (Pankhurst & Horne, 1994). Persons with secure attachment style form and keep high-quality, close relationships (Bartholomew, 1990).…”