I can’t sleep, with or without you

Imagine lying in bed next to your partner. The bedroom is at a perfect temperature. The street outside is quiet. All you hear is the soothing sound of the wind rustling through the trees. You feel tired and happy.  Tomorrow is another day, your Sleep Cycle’s smart alarm clock has been set for 6 am. You have an early meeting you need to prepare for.  You’re in your happy place and ready for a good night’s sleep.

Just as you’re about to doze off and enter the land of dreams, it starts. Zzzzzzzzz psssssssss… You smile and shake your head as you lean over to gently nudge your partner’s shoulder. The snoring stops. Another minute or two goes by. It starts again. Zzzzzzzzz psssssssss… And again, and again. Zzzzzzzzz psssssssss… No matter what you do, the break of silence is never long enough for you to fall asleep. This is how it can be when sleeping with a snorer. 

As the clock closes in at 2 am you feel desperate, and stressed over the meeting you have the next day. The thought of a divorce doesn’t seem that far-fetched. Pillow under your arm, you grab a blanket and retreat to the living room couch. The next morning at the sound of your alarm, you wake up heavy-eyed and in a bad mood with a sore back. Time to tackle the day ahead.

Love is blind, but not deaf – Tips for sleeping with a snorer

We could give you a million tips and tricks that may or may not help. Instead, we’ll share a few key ones with one piece of advice, in particular, that truly stands out. 

  • The first one is from the magazine Today. It suggests you should remind yourself you love the person snoring and that the sound you’re hearing means he/she is breathing, keeping in mind that breathing is natural and necessary. Instead of the opposite – letting the sound and the person making it,  drive you crazy. This may be easy enough if you have all the time in the world to sleep. Harder to live by if you’re like most people, and require some peace and quiet in order to clock in good quality sleep within a specific preset time frame.
  • One from our own back-of-house would be to track your partner’s snoring with the Sleep Cycle app. This way, should your partner object to the seriousness of the issue when you bring it up, you will be able to prove otherwise.
  • Another one up our sleeve is sewing tennis balls onto the back of your partner’s pajama jacket, to stop them from rolling over to their back and thus increase the risk of snoring. A trick made popular back in the early 1900s when everyone wore appropriate cotton attire to bed. Not as effective (or pleasant) if you’re like most people nowadays, and prefer to sleep in your underwear.
  • There’s a host of other good suggestions, such as the use of earplugs, going to bed before your partner does, using white noise machines to drown out the sound of snoring, and more remedies your partner can use to stop snoring.

The one fact that stands out however is that, according to a recent Sleep Cycle study, over 40 percent of American women would rather sleep alone than with a partner. Now we’re not saying this is a long-term solution. Snoring is a potentially life-threatening condition left untreated, and step one is making sure your partner gets help. Start with basic snore aids like mouthguards and nose patches, a simple search will list them for you.  If none of those work, seeing a sleep doctor is your partner’s only option. Trust us, seriously great health benefits will follow, for both of you.

For now, sleep alone (before the snorer affect your sleep and health)

That’s what we want you to consider while you wait for all the snore solutions and treatments to take effect. Make sure you don’t compromise on your own sleep because you are sleeping with a snorer. Leaving the bedroom while the snoring still goes on does not equal letting the one you love down. It means the opposite. A well-rested you is a better, healthier, and happier you (and thus a better partner). Don’t wait till it starts stressing you out, act as soon as those snores start. Leave the room and have a comfy spot already prepared for you in peace and quiet.