Simba Sleep wants to know , should we follow our heart or our head when choosing a bed. Do we choose a single or a double bed?
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Simba Sleep wants to know , should we follow our heart or our head when choosing a bed. Do we choose a single or a double bed?
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Scientific research has argued that a good night’s sleep can only be achieved by sleeping in a separate bed to your partner. Given this is Valentine’s Week, Simba Sleep thought they’d investigate further. After all, if there’s one time of the year that’s ripe for sharing your bed, it’s surely February’s famous day for feeling fruity.
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Sharing beds with the scrummy creature whom you don’t mind seeing your bedhead and Winnie the Pooh pyjamas is apparently a relatively recent phenomenon. Before the industrial revolution, when more people lived in the countryside, it was not uncommon for couples to sleep separately, unless sleep was not the prime intention. The great shift from a largely rural economy to great waves of people moving into cities saw less space and more couples snuggling up together at bedtime. And so began a fine tradition that continues to this day.
But is this any good for us as individuals? Those against bed-sharing point out that another’s sleeping habits – snoring, tossing and turning, remembering aloud that the bathroom still needs grouting – are liable to interfere with our own sleep. In fact, should the person you’re tucked up with move in the night, there’s a 50% chance you’ll have to move too, and wake up in the process. And what does this lead to? A bad night’s sleep, meaning a poor start to the day, a strain on your emotional wellbeing and a hump the size of a well-endowed camel. Not a good recipe for a happy relationship. And, yet.
Without going into the minutiae of bedroom pastimes, sharing a bed is not all about the sleeping. It’s a place to be together with that delicious other you can’t help but want to spend your time with, only without the distractions of laptops, televisions and all the beastliness of the world that lurks outside the bedroom door. It’s a place to reconnect and remember who you are, instead of the workplace person you spend hours every day pretending to be. It’s a space you can be you – strange, weirdo you – with the one person who wouldn’t change (the strange, weirdo) you for the world. Sharing a bed is like sharing your own private island.
There’s also the fact that a proper cuddle before you drift off is clinically proven to be good for you; reducing blood pressure and releasing the hormone oxytocin. Sometimes called the ‘cuddle chemical’, oxytocin increases a sense of personal wellbeing and may well be responsible for the sensation of being ‘in love’. A little different from tucking yourself down, all by yourself. With Teddy.
It’s easy to blame your significant other for your sleep deficiencies, but there are many other factors behind a restless night. Diet, the need for one last coffee, a temptation to succumb to last-minute Facebook posts and overall lack of regard for good sleep hygiene tend to have as much effect on our ability to sleep well as the person we love acting out a lively dream. The bed that you lie on is another crucial factor. Considering we spend a third of our lives asleep, your dreaming plinth is at least as important as the clothes you wear.
When it comes to getting a good night’s sleep, it all comes down to the mattress that you lie on. Compared to other household staples, a mattress is far down the list of priorities for many, and with so many mattresses on sale these days it’s hard to know what to buy for the best. However, the type of mattress you lie on can make all the difference between a good and bad night’s sleep. Dedicated to the perfect night’s sleep, one brand is truly revolutionising bedtimes, by developing the most advanced mattress in the world and solving the secret of the perfect night’s sleep.
So during Valentine’s Week, why not use the occasion to really make the most of you and your bed-partner’s special place, and plan your next adventure together. Or do whatever you fancy doing, after all that wine and chocolate.
