Sharing a Bed With Your Partner Could Have Unexpected Sleep Benefits, Study Finds

Your brain is still active even in the deepest of sleep.

The sound of snoring, the tugging of blankets, and the bumping of limbs are all registered on some level, and yet far from disrupting your sleep, new research suggests sharing a bed could actually make you feel more rested.

When you sleep with a spouse or partner, they tend to report more insomnia than those who sleep alone.

According to the findings, who we sleep next to can affect how good we feel when we wake up.

Participants who shared a bed with their partner reported less fatigue and more sleep time.

Depression, anxiety, and stress scores were lower in this group.

"Sleeping with a romantic partner or spouse shows to have great benefits on sleep health, including reduced sleep apnea risk, sleep severity, and overall improvement in sleep quality," says Brandon Fuentes.

It's not clear whether the benefits of co-sleep or the quality of the romantic relationship are the reason for the improvements to mental health. It might be a bit of both.

People who are in relationships show better health than those who are single.

It is hard to understand why this is. There are a lot of variables that affect the body and the mind over time.

The benefits of sleeping alone or sharing a bed have been the subject of many studies.

There are only a few studies that show how sleeping with a romantic partner affects sleep.

According to the limited research on this topic, couples are able to sync their movements during sleep and their stages of sleep. REM sleep increased by 10 percent when couples slept in the same bed.

Positive affect, social bonding, and prosocial behavior are all related to mental health.

Some surveys show that couples feel better about sleep when they sleep with each other.

A survey published this year found that people fell asleep quicker if they shared a bed with a long term partner.

It's not possible to tell how sleeping with a partner improves a person's sleep, only that a correlation exists.

It's possible that a person just thinks they have slept better when they haven't.

Wristbands that record movement during sleep are used to get around this.

A study found that when a person sleeps with their partner, they fall in line with one another. Even though more movement is registered at night, it doesn't mean the sleep was worse.

It's not known if sleeping with a partner is better for you or if sleeping alone is worse.

The research was presented at a professional sleep meeting.