This is why you have a better night's sleep when you share a bed

Interesting...

Words by Jadie Troy-Pryde

How you sleep says a lot about your relationship, but do you often feel that you get a worse night's sleep when you and your other half don't share a bed? Yes, they might steal all the covers, and yes you might not see eye-to-eye when it comes to the politics of big spoon little spoon, but for some reason many people feel as though they get a better night's rest if they share a bed with someone.

And we all know how beneficial a proper sleep can be - it can actually make women smarter, and can stop you from gaining weight.

A new study, It's More Than Sex, found that men in particular had a better sleep when they snoozed alongside their partners.

The researchers analysed the sleeping patterns of 15 heterosexual couples, and found that young men slept longer and rose later when sharing a bed. However, the interesting thing is that technically the quality of the participants' sleep was not improved, and yet those involved said that they felt as though it was.

It suggests that the reason for this perceived sleep improvement is likely to be down to the love, trust and support within the couples' relationships. It gives weight to a report in the Wall Street Journal back in 2012, which claimed that there were vast psychological benefits to sleeping in the same bed as your partner.

The report said: 'Sharing a bed may also reduce cytokines, involved in inflammation, and boost oxytocin, the so-called love hormone that is known to ease anxiety and is produced in the same part of the brain responsible for the sleep-wake cycle.'

As if we needed any more excuses to press the snooze button this weekend...