Wife's Claim Separate Bedrooms Are Secret to 'Happy Marriage' Backed Online

A woman has put forward what she believes might well be the "unspoken rule" of any truly happy marriage: separate bedrooms.

While the idea of sleeping away from your partner might sound extreme to some, for many on social media it was evidently something they were already practicing themselves.

The claims appear to fly in the face of scientific research with a study conducted by the University of Arizona earlier this year previously concluding adults who shared a bed with a partner actually slept better than those who slept alone.

These conclusions were based on a study of just over 1,000 working age adults and highlighted how those who shared a bed reported experiencing less severe insomnia and less fatigue. They were also found to sleep more than those who never shared a bed and fell asleep faster and for longer.

That might be the case in theory, but in practice, for one woman at least, the opposite appeared to be true. Writing to Mumsnet under the handle DreamToNightmare, the unnamed wife and mother revealed she had been sleeping "so soundly" since decamping to the foldout couch bed in their eldest son's room.

"Normally I'm disturbed by my husband's snoring, his fidgeting, his getting up for a wee twice a night and feeling chilly because he likes the bedroom window open a little at night," she said. "It's been like heaven this last week not having to deal with that!"

She said that when her husband joked the other morning that she seemed to prefer sharing a room with their son, she admits that inside she was thinking "hell yes I do."

Now she is due to move back into their bedroom but is hesitant to give up a setup she thinks is "glorious" and, if anything, appears to be helping her marriage.

"Last night, once the children were asleep, me and my husband went to our room, we watched the latest episode of a series we are watching amongst chatting about our days, then we had sex," she wrote.

"Then we said our good nights and then I left and went to my sofa bed, read a few chapters of my book before then settling down and getting a wonderful sleep."

The experience has left her convinced that having separate bedrooms is "the unspoken rule of happy marriages" and she's evidently keen to continue with the practice.

"It's bliss and I could certainly get used to this," she wrote.

Sharing the experience online, the woman found herself inundated with messages from other spouses extolling the benefits of separate sleeping quarters.

N0RKS confessed: "We have been married forever, and it was only for the first three years that we shared a bed. Even on holiday we have separate rooms. Utter bliss. I love him completely and totally...but I don't like him so much when he is asleep."

Mynameisnotkate agreed, writing: "It really works for us. We both sleep fairly badly, so tend to just keep each other awake when we're together. I do feel a bit weird about it though and feel embarrassed and like it needs explanation if people know about it."

Hmmmwhatnametochose added: "We've had separate bedrooms for the past 10 years and it's so good. My husband snores, wriggles and starfishes." Changeismine agreed: "Separate bedrooms here for years and years. Without them, we would have split!"

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr was of a similar mindset, though they did express worry about how it might be perceived. "We sleep in separate rooms but I worry about when our kids have friends round and play upstairs, and refer to "Dad's room" and "Mum's room" to their friends," they said.

Others like Rewis felt there was no need to feel any sense of embarrassment though. "My parents have always slept in separate rooms," they wrote. "Good night sleep leads to a happy marriage. Bad night sleep leads to a lot of fighting."

Newsweek was not able to verify the details of the case.