To solve the problem, more of us are taking to sleeping alone to ensure a restful night – in fact, one in six UK couples say they regularly sleep in separate beds, according to a new study.
Some of that number even admit to sleeping in separate rooms.
'Differing bedtime habits’ are the most common reason for couples sleeping separately, with 86 per cent saying they get a better kip when spared from their partner's disruptive night-time behaviour.
42 per cent say it has ‘negatively impacted their sex life.'
But while our separate arrangements are supposed to be keeping the romance alive in our relationships - stopping us from snapping at our partners after a lack of sleep - it is actually harming our sex lives and making us feel more distant from our partners.
Two thirds of those sleeping separately admit it’s had a ‘negative impact’ on their relationship, Of these, more than claim it has made them feel ‘distant’ from their partner, while 42 per cent say it has ‘negatively impacted their sex life.'
Nearly three quarters of the couples polled, said they had previously shared a bed with their partner but later split their sleeping arrangements, while the remaining number had always slept in separate beds.
When the ‘single sleepers’ were asked whether or not they planned to share a bed with their partner in the future, over half said 'no', they didn’t plan to share a bed again, with the majority explaining that they simply ‘liked’ sleeping apart now.
The study – which polled 2,010 men and women aged 18 and over in a co-habiting relationship from across the UK –was conducted by mattress company Ergoflex after they noticed a rise in searches on-site for single mattresses.