Strategies for a Better Night's Sleep: Sleeping Apart

An increasing number of couples, old and young, resolve sleep incompatibility by parting ways at night. A recent NSF survey reported that an estimated 23% of American couples sleep apart. British couples report similar habits. A survey by Britain's Sleep Council found one out of every four couples surveyed regularly sleep separately. The trend has become so firmly entrenched that architects now regularly design new homes with two master bedrooms. The National Association of Home Builders predicts that by 2015, more than half of all custom houses will have dual master bedrooms.

But many couples remain committed to cuddling at night. Rosenblatt, who interviewed 42 bed-sharing couples for his book Two in a Bed: The Social System of Couple Bed Sharing, reported that, snoring and other annoyances aside, the desire for intimacy and sheer closeness persuaded many couples to stay under the same set of sheets.