In interviews, couples and sociologists say that the new sleeping preferences
don’t necessarily have anything to do with sex. It has more to do with snoring, conflicting work or gym schedules, or
with children who cry late into the night. It also has something to do with the fact that gender roles have changed. In younger
couples, both husbands and wives work outside the home, and both take an active role in childcare duties when they are at
home. Whatever the reason, the request for two master bedrooms is on the rise.
But
it isn’t necessarily new. I remember staying with my grandparents one summer and discovering that they slept in different
bedrooms. My grandmother told me even back then that she couldn’t sleep in the same bedroom with my grandfather because
he snored so loud. My first thought was “they don’t love each other anymore,” until I heard him snoring
from my room down the hall…with the doors closed.
The fact is, people need their sleep. A lack of sleep affects nearly everything we do during the day. According to the National Sleep Foundation in Washington,
75 percent of adults either wake up in the night frequently or snore — and many of them now sleep in separate bedrooms
so they can get a good night‘s sleep. The foundation also disclosed recently that more than half the women surveyed,
aged 18 to 64, said they only slept well a few nights a week. And lack of sleep can cause marital tension, along with many
other problems.
Paul Rosenblatt, a professor in the department of family and
social science at the University of Minnesota, wrote a book on the subject, after studying couples who sleep in separate bedrooms.
He believes a large part of the phenomenon has to do with aging.
Many are convinced
that sleeping in separate bedrooms can do just the opposite of what we might imagine. They say it can actually improve marital
relationships. Others feel their marriages are good despite the fact that they don’t sleep together. Instead, they prefer
to visit one another for cuddling and sex, then return to their own rooms to sleep.
The
social stigma still persists however, otherwise couples requesting two master bedrooms wouldn’t try to make it seem
like it is for reasons other than not wanting to sleep together.
.
WHAT ARE THE HIGHEST
INCOME EARNING YEARS FOR MEN? How does that affect your decision to retire early? Read More
Want to know more about your personality? Take a fun quiz
Reversing the roles for parents and children...Difficult challenges for both the parent
and the child, and what could that mean for your retirement lifestyle... Read More
