In our waking hours, it’s true, we dream of romance but when we sleep we just sleep. Couples joined at the hip, stuck to each other by the superglue of love, even Romeos and Juliets who get past their first wedding anniversary, all they crave is a little shut-eye alone. The myth of coupledom does make us feel like we are betraying our beloved, but sleeping by oneself is the ultimate luxury. A recent research by mattress firm Leesa in the US found that more than half the people surveyed wanted to sleep solo; 52 percent felt it was downright healthy to sleep in separate beds, and 62 percent voted for it.
We may be doe-eyed when it comes to matters of the heart but when we hit the bed we mean business, sleep the only thing on our mind. Another human being can only be a hindrance when it comes to serious slumbering. They may want to talk, or watch TV, or read with the lights on, or they may stretch out next to you somewhat handsy, their arms and legs entwined around you. Or they may be twitchy and restless, tossing and turning, or they may hog the quilt, or want the fan/AC on or off. Or they may sulk because you have done them wrong in the past and want to discuss this issue in great detail right here right now. Or they may turn over and go to sleep themselves but snore oh-so-loudly that even the neighbourhood dogs start to bark their protest.
Sleep is when we reboot internally, become again the individuals we are. Only a good night’s sleep makes the world an okay place to wake up in. Our siestas, our snoozes, even our little catnaps and powernaps, these make or mar our mood. No faking in the bedroom when it comes to napping.A lack of sleep can wreak havoc in ways only you know. Insomniacs look a little demented during the day, their eyelashes frizzy. Sleep-deprived new mothers, the jetlagged business executive, the night-shift worker... they know they must sleep in snatches. And this is precious, invaluable me-time, when the world must let them be.
It happens out of the blue. After we meet soulmates, we presume we will forever snuggle in their arms and be rocked to sleep with personalised lullabies every night. Then comes the first fight when one party takes the couch in a huff, or a trip abroad for work by either party, and the realisation that the bed is all yours, all yours! If you didn’t want to sleep right away and maximise your sleeping hours, you’d be dancing on the bed all night. Once we’ve tasted blood by sleeping alone, it is difficult to curl up in bed for some spooning. Soon the couple agrees to part ways in the horizontal arena of their bed, by occupying the far sides. One clings to the left, the other to the right, thus opting for a partition. Yes, we have signed up for being together in sickness and in health, but not on pillow and in bed.shinieantony@gmail.com