A popular sleep technique across parts of Europe promises to ensure a restful night’s sleep and prevent disagreements with your partner.
Achieving the appropriate amount of sleep each night is vital, yet often challenging.
Lack of sleep can contribute to feelings of anxiety, irritability, and can adversely affect our physical well-being.
In fact, a doctor has cautioned that getting as little as five hours of sleep a night may lead to a premature death.
Adults are recommended to sleep between seven and nine hours per night, but various factors can impact the quality of our sleep.
Bed-sharing with a partner is one such factor, though a Scandinavian sleeping method that gained popularity on TikTok could be transformative.
This method is both straightforward and effective, with many Europeans, particularly those in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, advocating for it.
It involves each individual using their own duvet while sharing the same bed, serving as an excellent alternative to sleep divorce, where couples sleep in separate beds.
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Behavioral sleep medicine specialist Ellen Wermter shared with CBS News that the Scandinavian sleep method allows couples to “do your cuddling and still use this method. If people don’t want to take as extreme a step as separate beds or separate rooms, this can give you a little bit of separateness and individualization while still being within arm’s reach of each other and feeling the comfort of having a bed partner close by.”
There are scientific benefits to sharing a bed as well, so there is no need to resort to separate sleeping arrangements immediately.
Co-sleeping can enhance rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is crucial for mental health, memory processing, and developing social skills, as noted by the Sleep Foundation.
Additionally, bed sharing can promote the release of oxytocin, which is associated with enhanced emotional regulation, reduced stress levels, and improved well-being.
One notable advantage of the Scandinavian sleep method is better temperature regulation.
James Wilson, also known as the Sleep Geek, explained to The Mirror: “If you’re a hot sleeper, laying next to someone, they’re coming into your side of the bed, that makes you hot.”
He further noted that women are particularly sensitive to heat, especially in the week before menstruation due to an increase in core temperature.
Similarly, Wermter observed that “[With] height differences between people, you can get this sort of airflow that’s coming in that’s cold and disruptive.”
Having your own duvet allows for better temperature control, reducing disturbances and thus improving sleep quality.
If your partner tends to get up for bathroom breaks during the night, a separate duvet minimizes the chances of disruption. This is also beneficial for couples with differing sleep schedules, such as shift workers or those favoring an early bedtime.
Moreover, it eliminates the issue of cover hogging, which can be quite frustrating.
Improved sleep quality positively affects various aspects of life. It leads to healthier food choices, increased energy for exercise, and helps maintain a strong immune system, as explained by Davis Health.
This method could potentially preserve both relationships and sleep quality.