And they lived nap-pily ever after…
Most adults in a relationship share a bed with their significant other. Studies show that people often sleep better when they doze next to a partner, with one very important caveat — they can’t be strange bedfellows.
“Sleeping in pairs can enhance physical and emotional security,” Dr. Thomas Michael Kilkenny, director of the Institute of Sleep Medicine at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital, told The Post.
“The closer the couples are emotionally, the more synchronized the sleep becomes,” he added.
Kilkenny shared three benefits of sharing a bed with an intimate partner that may make some couples think twice about getting a sleep divorce.
You sleep longer
“Studies using brain waves showed significantly increased sleep durations when co-sleeping,” Kilkenny said. “The subjects also felt significantly more relaxed after having slept with their partner.”
Having sex, cuddling, holding hands and sleeping close can trigger the release of oxytocin, also known as the “love hormone,” which promotes relaxation, reduces stress and creates a sense of security.
The oxytocin effect may help couples fall asleep faster, contributing to longer sleep time.
Increased REM sleep — the stage important for emotional regulation, memory consolidation, brain development and dreaming — may also be a factor.
Kilkenny noted that research indicates that people who sleep with a partner, even if not in the same bed but simply in the same room, tend to experience less fragmented REM sleep compared to sleeping alone.
You sleep better
Couples who share a bed often synchronize their sleep stages, which can lead to better sleep quality.
Kilkenny likened this occurrence to a phenomenon known as “Huygens synchronization,” which says that two pendulum clocks will eventually swing in rhythm if they are placed near each other because they will subtly influence the other through vibrations.
Kilkenny said sleep synchrony relies on two main factors — mutual attention and the nature of the relationship, like if it’s a romantic couple, close friends or hookup buddies. Emotional support, communication and relationship stability play a role.
“People who slept in the same bed who were not emotional or socially attached to each other did not demonstrate any of these synchronization patterns,” Kilkenny said.
You’re more in tune with your partner
When people hit the hay together, not only do their sleep cycles often align, but their heartbeats tend to synchronize as well.
“Data shows that the heart rhythms of co-sleeping individuals gradually change over the night as a result of the interaction with each other,” Kilkenny said.
“This phenomenon is thought to be associated with a decrease in stress responses at the neurologic level,” he continued. “This finding implies that linked heartbeats during sleep were associated with the mutual interactions of the partner’s nervous systems.”
Kilkenny explained that one partner doesn’t have more influence over the other — it goes both ways.
The hearts essentially “talk to each other” as partners sleep, he said, with “the heart rhythm of one co-sleeper acting as an external stimulus that affects the heart rhythm of the other co-sleeper.”
This process goes on until the heartbeats match.
