Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697636518040.pdf (Australia)
Submission to the Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia Sleep Deprivation caused by a Disruptive Partner This submission seeks to highlight a common social issue that contributes significantly to sleep deprivation, is discussed consistently in the media, but is under-represented in the medical or clinical discourse on sleep, sleep deprivation, and sleep habits and hygiene.

The issue is that of sleep deprivation caused by a disruptive partner.
Brief Background Couples sleeping together is a modern phenomenon, thought to be a consequence of the industrial revolution.

Couple or pair sleeping replaced group sleep with individual bedding, which was the most prevalent sleep environment in human societies.

Culturally, but more importantly, emotionally, there is a lot of value placed on couples co-sleeping as a sign of intimacy.

Nightly bed sharing by couples is seen as a socially determined marker of a ‘successful’ intimate relationship.
Conversely, but as a separate marker, a couple who are ‘together’ but not sleeping together as viewed as unsuccessful, or in a failing relationship.

As noted by Dittami in “Sex differences in the reactions to sleeping in pairs versus sleeping alone in humans” (2007) “Pair sleep at night is a recent cultural development.
Although it is common for couples to sleep in the same bed, few researchers have addressed the issue of whether this sleeping arrangement may disrupt sleep and consequently impair an individual’s physical or mental health” While many couples are able to sleep together without consequence to either party’s health, there are a significant number of couples where one party suffers from minimal through to major disruption to their sleep due to issues such as snoring, movement in bed, incompatible bed times and room conditions.
The Core Issues Pressure to conform to socially-constructed norms forces couples to share a bed, even though an extensive range of sleep-associated behaviours may cause significant disruption to one or both parties and cause sleep deprivation.

Research into the extent of sleep deprivation caused by a disruptive partner is limited.
A study undertaken by the Central Queensland University in 2012 provided research into partner disruption found that: “a partner in your bed is more disruptive to sleep than any other noise.

In the study, 57.6 per cent respondents indicated that they slept with a partner, and, of these, 34.5 per cent indicated that their partner disturbed them whilst getting into bed.
Forty four per cent stated that their partner disturbed them by tossing and turning, and 58.5 per cent said that their partner’s snoring disturbed their sleep.
Over 48 per cent said their partner disturbed them by getting up to go to the bathroom at night; 10.1 per cent reported that their sleep was disturbed by their partner getting up to go to the kitchen; 8.1 per cent of respondents were disturbed by their partner answering phone calls; and 35.9 per cent had been disturbed by a partner getting up to go to work.” Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in AustraliaSubmission 29 Having sleep disrupted by persistent interruptions not only reduces the amount of time spent sleeping, but also often prevents one or both parties in a couple from entering the deep sleep phases required for physical and mental restorative activities undertaken by the body through each sleep cycle.
Sleep deprivation caused by a disruptive partner produces similar outcomes to clinical sleep disruptors as the result is less sleep than is required, with sleep cycles disrupted.

However, outside tabloid attention to celebrities, or light entertainment sites and print media, it is rarely discussed as a contributor when considering the ‘impacts and costs of inadequate sleep’.
Due to its omission from medically recognised causes of sleep disruption, those who do work and are suffering from potentially severe sleep deprivation cannot see themselves in the discourse of sleep deprivation and its effects and fail to recognise the impact it is having on them personally, professionally and economically.

Research and media reports estimate that between 30-40% of couples sleep separately.

(Ryerson Sleep and Depression Laboratory, Canada).


However, qualitative research I undertook while writing Sleeping Apart not Falling Apart: How to get a good night’s sleep and keep your relationship alive (Finch, 2013) would suggest that many couples feel the stigma associated with sleeping separately to a partner presents too much of a barrier to make a health-based decision about sleeping separately.
Dittami’s study (mentioned above) also noted that ‘The bottom line is that our results indicate that women are more disturbed by the male presence in bed than the men by a woman’s presence.’ This is significant as social norms point to men having more of an issue about separate sleeping than women tend to.

Drew Dawson from Central Queensland University notes that: "Men in particular get really funny about it.
From a clinical perspective, what you hear from people who work in the field, it seems men are more upset by their partner moving out of the bedroom than vice versa.

I think it's something to do with evolutionary psychology -- that idea of There is a wide body of research that shows women have more trouble falling and staying asleep than men do.

Hormonal issues impact on these outcomes.


However, when added to the social issue of feeling forced or pressured to stay in a bed with a male partner, the impact on sleep deprivation is exacerbated.

Since my book’s publication, I have been contacted frequently by women who did not think that sleeping separately was an option.

Years of conditioning had taught them that ‘this is what you do’ when you partner.

The pressure is particularly prevalent in marriage.
I have also been contacted by women who are so grateful that there is someone looking to address the stigma of sleeping separately.

I have been contacted by men, but they under-represent in those who struggle with the issue of sharing a bed with a disruptive partner.

Strangely, living separately is seen as more socially acceptable than sleeping separately as reported by Sharon Hyman, Director of upcoming documentary Apartners: Living Happily Ever Apart.
I find this both perplexing and incredibly frustrating.

Without the ‘permission’ of a body such as the Sleep Health Foundation suggesting that finding alternative sleeping arrangements to address a disruptive partner is a viable option, many women and men do not see separate sleeping as a solution to their problem.

Instead they choose temporary, short term solutions such as ear plugs or white noise machines to mask the problem.
Far more detrimentally to health however, are those who choose prescription sleeping medication to manage the issue.

What can be done?

From my perspective and within the scope of this Inquiry’s Terms of Reference, I propose the following points for consideration.

Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in AustraliaSubmission 29 • The Inquiry’s title notes Sleep Health Awareness as its focus.
If the broader population were made aware that finding the best sleep environment may involve sleeping alone, then I believe inroads can be made into addressing this sleep issue.

• Without ever being made aware that sleeping separately—if in a couple—is an option, some people genuinely don’t know they can choose to do so.
Awareness and options are needed to communicate to those in society who are locked into a belief that bed sharing is the ONLY option once you choose to cohabitate with an intimate partner.

• • The proposed solutions by the Australasian Sleep Association suggest an “urgent need for the development of a comprehensive sleep health promotion campaign” All aspects of the campaign as outlined could very comfortably note a disruptive partner as a cause of sleep deprivation.
Just as persistent messages about the impact of blue light from screens on melatonin production are becoming pervasive, highlighting partner disruption as a source of sleep disturbance could be made equally persistent and then become pervasive also.

Educating healthcare workers to question people with sleep deprivation issues as to possible causes attributed to a disruptive partner, then offer solutions about separate sleeping arrangements, could assist at a clinical level.
While I understand that a disruptive partner is not a medial sleep condition, it is a serious and prevalent social condition that impacts on a significant portion of the population every night.

If you were to ask but a small group of colleagues or friends if they suffered interrupted sleep due to a disruptive partner, I guarantee there will be a ‘yes’ or likely many ‘yesses’ in answer to the question.
If you question further if any of them sleep separately, you may have some brave people admit to the practice, but likely to have some not answer truthfully, or share in secret that they do.

This social construct is a predominantly Western Culture phenomena.

Education and insight will help bust the myth that partnering with another person automatically leads to sharing a bed with them every night.

Logically it doesn’t make sense, but socially it’s our cultural reality.
We owe it to all the sleep deprived people, driving cars, operating machinery, teaching our children, and making thousands of critical decisions every day to let them know IT’S OKAY TO SLEEP SEPARATELY.

Their health depends on it.

Jennifer Adams www.sleepingapartnotfallingapart.com Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in AustraliaSubmission 29