According to a new study, having a loved one hugging you in bed is not just pleasant – it can help you sleep better.
Researchers at the University of Arizona have found that those who share a bed with a spouse or partner sleep better than those who sleep alone, and may even have a lower risk of problems such as insomnia and sleep apnea.
“Very little research has investigated this, but our findings show that whether we sleep alone or with a partner, family member or pet, it can affect our sleep health,” said Dr. Michael Grandner, director of the Research Program. sleep and health at the University of Arizona and senior author of the study, said in a press release. “We were very surprised to find out how important this can be.”
The study, presented last week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, focuses on data from about 1,000 adults living in southeastern Pennsylvania.
These data were collected in the study Sleep and Health, Diet, Environment and Socialization (SHADES), which seeks to ask a number of questions to a group of participants to get a better idea of how sleep affects different parts of our health. .
Participants completed questionnaires, taking into account the frequency with which they share a bed with a partner or spouse, child or children, pets, other family members or no one.
They measure the risk of insomnia, sleep quality, fatigue and sleep apnea using established indices for these problems. They also looked at age, gender, race, income and education to see if they confused the results.
Those who answered that they slept with a partner or husband “most nights” achieved higher results for the quality of their sleep than those who slept alone. They also showed less WASO – “waking up after sleep” – which is when a person experiences wakefulness after being clearly asleep, a measure of sleep fragmentation.
“Sleeping with a romantic partner or spouse shows that there are great benefits to sleep health, including a reduced risk of sleep apnea, the severity of sleep insomnia and an overall improvement in sleep quality,” said Brandon Fuentes, a research student in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona and lead author of the study, the statement said.
However, those who frequently share a bed with a child report higher levels of insomnia, less control over their sleep, and appear to have a higher risk of apnea.
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which a person’s breathing during sleep is uneven and can stop or start suddenly and can be dangerous.
Sleeping with a partner is also associated with lower depression and anxiety than those who sleep alone more often, while sharing a bed with a child more often is associated with higher stress.
The study has limitations, including that it relies on self-reported impacts through studies that may not fully reflect whether participants had a good night’s sleep or not.
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