Wife’s Sleeping Habits Will Affect Marriage – But Husband’s Won’t: Study
When the lady of the house gets a poor night's sleep, her marriage suffers. However, the same does not hold true if it's the fellow who spends his night counting sheep in frustration.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh observed 35 healthy married couples' sleeping habits over a 10-day period. With the help of a device called an actigraph, they were able to chart how well they slept, and how long it took them to fall asleep.
The couples were also told to chart their martial interactions during their waking hours, with an emphasis on whether they were positive or negative.
"We found that wives' sleep problems affect her own and her spouse's marital functioning the next day, and these effects were independent of depressive symptoms," said psychiatry professor Wendy Troxel, who headed the study.
However, there was no evidence that a cranky husband affected martial function.
While this is certainly an interesting finding, we recommend that a husband only share it with his wife if he is certain she got a good night's sleep the night before.