Many New Jersey couples sleep in separate rooms

It’s called “sleep divorce” and it may be more common than you would think. It’s when a couple decides to sleep separately, even sleeping in different rooms.

It’s a practice I’m familiar with, as my wife and I have had separate bedrooms for several years. We made the decision because of one reason: snoring. We’ve been married for 30 years and it got to the point where neither one of us was getting a good night’s sleep because we both snore. It started with one of us heading to the couch for a respite and it slowly evolved into deciding that we would both be happier sleeping apart. When we bought our most recent house in 2021, we made sure it had enough bedrooms to go around.

It turns out that we’re not alone in New Jersey. A new study from MattressNextDay, quite a few folks in New Jersey have opted for sleep divorce.

When the question was asked: “Do/have you ever slept in separate rooms from your partner to support your sleep?”, a full 40% of respondents said yes. Keep in mind, that doesn’t mean they routinely spend the night apart, but have at least tried it.

• Nationally, 32% are currently sleeping in separate beds
• Interestingly, only 36% said they never sleep separately.
• 14% said they always sleep separately to ensure they both get a good night's sleep.
• 11% said a couple of nights a week, and 7% said Monday to Friday.

While there does seem to be something of a stigma attached, the pros (like better sleep and stronger relationships) outweigh the cons.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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