Why More UK Couples Are 'Sleep Divorcees'

The United Kingdom is a nation of “sleep divorcees,” with 8 in 10 couples having slept apart before, a fifth of the nation sleeping apart regularly, and 29% of couples doing so permanently in the quest for a good night’s rest.

What’s causing couples to resort to this unexpected arrangement? Nearly a quarter of adults in a relationship say they’re not “sleep compatible” with their other half, with 23% blaming their partner’s sleeping habits for getting fewer than five hours of sleep a night, according to research commissioned by Samsung for the launch of the Galaxy Watch6.

The research also revealed that snoring (71%), restless sleeping/fidgeting (35%), and one or both waking up several times during the night (30%) are the factors topping the list of things that keep couples sleeping apart.

Despite this, all is not lost, as over three-quarters (77%) believe going to sleep next to and waking next to their partner is important, and nearly half (45%) feel getting a better night’s sleep with their partner would positively improve their relationship.

And while sleep-related issues or disagreements amongst couples are leaving the nation feeling exhausted/tired (41%), stressed (30%), and unproductive (15%), nearly two-thirds (62%) feel it is important to find a solution to avoid sleeping separately to their partner.

To help bring harmony back to the bedroom, Samsung teamed up with clinical psychologist and sleep expert Dr Julie Smith to show how the Galaxy Watch6 “sleep coaching” function can help couples understand their sleeping habits better and put a stop to sleep divorce for good.

“It seems a shame to resort to sleep divorce to get a good night’s sleep when neither of you would otherwise choose to sleep apart,” says Smith in a release. “So, if one or both partners are disturbing the sleep of the other, it makes sense to work out which of your habits around sleep might be making that worse. You can start by using a device to log your sleep patterns for you, like the Samsung Galaxy Watch6. The good news is that many of these bad sleeping habits are fixable, without having to resort to sleeping apart.”

To help couples improve their sleeping routines, Smith shared her top tips for avoiding sleep disruptions, including how to use sleep trackers like the Galaxy Watch6 to reach sleep success:

Taking hold of your sleep routine isn’t just about what you do when it comes to winding down in the evening; it includes a combination of different things you do throughout the day. Getting to grips with all the variables that can impact sleep can be overwhelming. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch6 has a sleep coaching feature that includes a tailored program of tips to help guide the process, along with features like snore detection to help users find out more about their snoring habits.
Get to know the problem in more detail by considering all the things that may contribute to sleep disturbance for you or your partner. It is quite possible that some small changes could make a positive difference in sleep for both of you so that you don’t need to sleep apart.
Breaking old habits and forming new ones can be difficult. So, this is something to work on together, offering support and holding each other accountable. Couples see better outcomes when they see themselves as a team working on a problem, rather than seeing the other person as the problem.

When it comes to comparing the regions across the UK, those living in Northern Ireland have proven to be the most likely to sleep separately from their partners, with 73% citing sleep disruption as the main reason.

The region’s most likely to have partners sleeping in separate rooms: