One in four of us say our partner is the cause of our sleep problems.* Fortunately, help is at hand. And it doesn’t have to mean sleeping in twin beds or separate rooms. Read on to learn more about how to sleep well with your partner.
Sleep and relationships
It is possible to sleep better with your partner. After all, the connection between sleep and relationships is an important one that can affect all areas of our lives. We’ve put together our advice to help with some of the most common sleep problems for couples, so you can both sleep better.
If different sleeping temperatures are the problem:
One of you is too hot. The other is too cold. And when the weather is warm, this situation is only made worse. Try these top tips if you have difficulty sleeping with your partner that could be caused by varying temperatures:
- Choose temperature-regulating bedding: It’s a little-known fact that wool is a highly effective material for regulating body temperature. In fact, this natural fiber helps to keep you cool when you’re hot, and warm when you’re not, making it ideally suited to couples with different sleeping temperatures. Look for wool-filled comforters, pillows and mattress toppers that encase this natural fiber in breathable cotton for the most benefit.
- Choose a temperature-regulating mattress: It’s not just your bedding that can make a difference to your sleeping temperature. The type of mattress you choose can also affect whether you feel too hot or cold at night. Memory foam mattresses, for example, can be particularly problematic for hot sleepers. Instead, look for a mattress filled with heat-regulating wool – this will help you both maintain the right temperature for a good night’s sleep.
- Take action against night sweats: If one of you is suffering from night sweats, then you can take steps to alleviate these symptoms, including changing what you eat and swapping synthetic pyjamas for cotton, silk or merino wool alternatives. Learn more about the link between night sweats and sleep.
How to sleep well with your partner if you struggle to share the comforter:
If tossing, turning and tugs of war over the comforter are the problem, these tips on how to help your partner sleep better should make sharing a bed easier:
- Super-size your comforter: Buy your comforter one size larger than your bed to provide some extra cover for both of you. Ideal if one of you likes to sleep with the covers gathered around you.
- Consider a king-size bed: Or even super king – or larger! A more spacious bed should mean you’re less aware of each other tossing and turning in the night.
- Get support from your mattress: The right level of support from your mattress will help you both to find the perfect sleeping position more quickly, reducing all the fidgeting that can happen as you try to settle down for the night. But that’s not all – a properly supportive mattress should distribute your body weight evenly, reducing the feeling where you end up rolling towards each other during the night. Learn how to find your healthiest sleeping position.
If your partner’s snoring or sleep-talking is keeping you awake:
Here’s how to sleep with a snoring partner:
- Support side-sleeping: Back-sleeping is a common trigger for snoring. Get your partner to try sleeping on their side and consider investing in a more supportive mattress to help you both maintain a more comfortable and healthier sleeping position.
- Seek medical advice: Snoring isn’t just irritating – in some people, it can also be a sign of an underlying medical condition, such as sleep apnoea. Encourage your partner to speak with their doctor so that any underlying condition can be treated effectively.
- Use a sleep diary: If sleep-talking is a regular occurrence, encourage your partner to use a sleep diary to record their routine and help identify any possible causes, such as stress or anxiety. If their sleep-talking is accompanied by night terrors (lashing out and/or shouting), encourage them to speak with their doctor for further support.
- Invest in earplugs or a white noise machine: A good short-term solution – earplugs or a white noise machine should help you to get a bit more shut-eye while you work out a longer term solution.
For more advice on all things sleep, discover our Sleep Health and Advice hub.
