18 Nov Sleep and Marriage
Sometimes people believe that to maintain a happy marriage it needs expensive gifts, romantic breaks or big bunches of flowers but the science show us that the secret to a happy marriage is a good night’s sleep. In fact, sleep is vital for every aspect of your life.
Psychologists have found that having a healthy sleep means partners are less likely to focus on the negative aspects of their relationship.
There are many ways how sleep deprivation affects the marriage, some of these are:
- You’re less thankful: gratitude is reduced due to sleep deprivation.
- You fight more (with less empathy): studies have shown that tired couples have less empathy for one another when trying to reach conflict resolution.
- Your aren’t able to make decisions: sleep deprivation, “makes us easily distracted, reckless, less innovative, and less able to integrate information”
- You affect everyone around you: when the woman does not get sufficient sleep both partners reported having similar negative responses to their spouse the following day.
- You have negative feelings: when couples sync their sleep and wake times, the result is there are more overall good vibes in their marriage. This means if you’re out of sync, you could experience more negativity and decreased relationship satisfaction.
A new study suggests that couples are more likely to sleep in sync when the wife is more satisfied with their marriage. Results show that overall synchrony in sleep-wake schedules among couples was high, as those who slept in the same bed were awake or asleep at the same time about 75 percent of the time. When the wife reported higher marital satisfaction, the percent of time the couple was awake or asleep at the same time was greater.
Researchers say sleep also helps to restore function in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that manages self-control, which is thought to improve our perception of relationships
References:
- AUTUMN JONES. APR 13 2016. 7 Ways Sleep Deprivation Affects Your Marriage. https://www.romper.com/
- Secret Happy Marriage. Daily mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3704294
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine. (2014, June 5). Couples sleep in sync when wife is satisfied with their marriage. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 15, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140605141857.htm