Sharing a Bed Makes Couples Healthier

Snoring and cover-hogging aside, studies increasingly suggest that couples enjoy health benefits just from sharing a bed. According to a round-up of emerging research by Wall Street Journal reporter Andrea Petersen, sleeping with a partner may be part of the reason that people in happy, committed relationships tend to have better health and longer lives than singletons.

New findings challenge previous studies showing that people move around more or don’t sleep as well when there’s someone else in their bed. Petersen cites a recent long-term study by Wendy M. Troxel, an assistant professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, that found that women in stable relationships actually fell asleep faster and awoke less frequently during the night than single women or those whose relationship status changed over the study period. Another study in 2010 found that among 29 couples, women slept better at night when they had fewer negative interactions with their partners during the day; on days that women reported more harmony in their relationships, the men slept better too.