heehe....In
ancient Rome, the marital bed was only a place for sexual congress and
not for sleeping, but now marital bed encompasses the sexual congress,
sleeping, relaxing, cuddling and having pillow talks.
Sharing a bed with a partner is one
issue that has not enjoyed a unanimous standpoint, largely because
individuals’ preference differs. It is also one of such issues that have
been a subject of discourse.
While some see it as a good thing that
should not even be compromised, some others do not embrace the idea,
hence, they would rather sleep in separate rooms, or separate beds.
Interestingly, those who agree and those
who disagree have their reasons for belonging to either side of the
divide. Findings have shown that those who despise the idea cite issues
such as snoring, sweating, stealing the sheets and absence of privacy as
excuses for not giving it a thought. On the other hand, those who
embrace the idea argued that it enhances intimacy, closeness and
happiness.
But beyond the aforementioned issues, a study, published in Daily Mail has
shown that sharing a bed with a partner is good for the heart. This is
beyond the fact that it encourages the feeling of safety and security,
especially for the woman.
The researchers from the University of
Pittsburgh, United States, found that sleeping on the same bed with
someone you love has a protective effect by lowering the levels of the
stress hormone, cortisol, and boosts the level of the love hormone,
oxytocin, which has been found to induce bonding feelings and a healthy
heart.
The cortisol hormone had been found to
have a link with a protein that can trigger heart disease and
depression. This implies that sleeping next to someone you love helps to
reduce the likelihood of having such ailments.
“Prolonged periods of elevated cortisol
have been linked with an increase in cytokines — proteins involved in
inflammation that can trigger heart disease, depression and auto-immune
disorders,” the study said.
One of the contributors to the study,
Dr. David Hamilton, a scientist, said apart from sexual intercourse,
sleeping together, in a happy relationship, is another way to increase
the oxytocin levels.
He said, “Sleeping together will
increase oxytocin levels, provided you are happy in the relationship.
Making love is one of the most reliable ways to produce oxytocin, as is
going to sleep, embracing someone or just being physically happy in
their company or with the conversation you are having in bed.
“And oxytocin has a super-spiral effect;
the more physical contact you have, the more oxytocin you’ll produce,
which causes you to want more contact. Oxytocin can have an addictive
effect.”
Meanwhile, the lead researcher, Dr.
Wendy Troxel, a behavioural and social scientist at the RAND Corporation
and an assistant professor of psychiatry and psychology, said sleep is
critically important for health and wellbeing of everyone.
She added, “Sleep is a critically
important health behaviour that we know is associated with heart disease
and psychiatric wellbeing.
“We also know sleep happens to be a
behaviour couples engage in together, so it stands to reason it may be
an important link with their health.
“And there is extensive literature
showing that happily married people live longer, happier, and healthier
lives than their unmarried or unhappily married counterparts.”
Troxel explained that another advantage
of sharing a bed with one’s partner is that it helps to diagnose or
observe the other person’s health problems or sleeping disorder, such as
sleep apnoea, which is a condition that interrupts and ceases breathing
while asleep, forcing the person to wake up. Heavy snoring is a symptom
of this.
She said, “What we do know about couples
and sleep is that happily married women have fewer sleep problems than
their unhappily married counterparts.
“Couples who are mismatched in terms of
their preferences for sleep timing have poorer relationship functioning
such as more conflict, less intimacy and less support. Such people will
not reap so many benefits.”
The study pointed out that the benefits
derivable from the oxytocin hormone go beyond sleeping next to each
other. It added that what is important is the bonding between the
couples, which could also be through pillow talk, cuddling and even
hugging, as simple as it is.
In a bid to reveal the health benefits
of hug, some researchers from the University of North Carolina, US,
asked 59 women who were either married or had partners to keep a diary
of the number of hugs they received over a particular period of time.
When analysing the diaries of the
participants and the levels of oxytocin in their blood after the
exercise, they found that the women who had received the highest number
of hugs had the highest levels of oxytocin, the lowest blood pressure
and heart rates.
“Oxytocin’s health benefits include
expanding blood vessels, which increases blood flow and ultimately a
more healthy heart and system,” it added.
Troxel explained further that women in
long-term stable relationships fell asleep more quickly and woke up less
frequently during the night than single women because the feelings of
safety and security with a partner may lead to more restful sleep.
Also, a chartered psychologist, Dr.
Jason Ellis, said women reap more benefits from bed sharing than men,
adding that the benefits tend to be psychological rather than
physiological.
“The women we studied reported more
enjoyable and refreshing sleep when sharing a bed compared to the men,
possibly because the women feel more secure and supported, unlike
sleeping alone that has been shown to elevate levels of the stress
hormone cortisol.
For couples who have different
preference between soft and hard mattresses, a chartered physiotherapist
at London Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Centre, Sammy Margo, said
such couples should buy a mattress in two parts – one half firm and the
other half soft. She noted that women’s preference for soft mattress
could be due to the soft lumps and bumps they have.
“If your partner is a snorer, go to bed
first so that if you are in deeper stages of sleep when your partner
joins you, by that time, his or her snoring is less likely to interrupt
your sleep,” Margo added.
Other experts advised that those who
could not bear sleeping with their partners everyday could do so on
weekends and that use of separate blanket, which can prevent sharing
temperature, can also be adopted.
Commenting on the findings of the study,
a consultant endocrinologist, Dr. Michael Olamoyegun, said even though
he had not read the study, the possible explanation would be that being
in a relaxed mood reduces the level of cortisol, the stress hormone and
increases the level of oxytocin hormone.
He said, “If the study is true, it means
if couples sleep together on the bed and there is harmony between them,
they would be relaxed and probably won’t be under any stress and if
any, it would be reduced because of the relaxed mood, which may in a way
reduce the level of cortisol that is produced.
“If the cortisol level goes up as a
result of stress, whether physical or psychological, it can cause
cushing syndrome, which is when there is a high level of cortisol in the
system, and it manifests by elevated blood pressure. Hence, it can
cause obesity, diabetes and hypertension, which affect the heart.”
He explained that what the oxytocin
hormone does is relaxation of muscles, adding that its main function is
in the uterus, to aid child delivery. “It also has some effects on the
blood vessel but not as significant as it has on the uterus. So in a
way, what it does is to cause relaxation and the blood pressure is not
likely to go up at that time, because once there is relaxation, it
reduces arterial blood pressure,” he added.
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