How well you sleep at night may be affected by how much pain your partner is in. A study was conducted that included 145 couples ages 50 and older, with one person in each couple having been diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. Each couple was tracked for 22 consecutive nights while they kept logs of pain levels, sleep quality, and feelings of being refreshed.
The results revealed that spouses are more likely to report experiencing poor quality sleep and feel less energized in the morning if their partners had a lot of knee pain at the end of the previous day. Researchers also discovered an association between the closeness of the spouses and the reporting of bad sleep in response to the other person’s knee pain.
Sleep plays a major role in our health, particularly when we are not getting enough of it. The findings can help identify which spouses are at risk for their own health risks, including cardiovascular disease. Some studies are reporting that 50-90% of people with chronic pain have bad sleep. In turn, their partners are also losing out on sleep benefits as well.
In order to sleep better, more and more couples are opting for separate sleeping rooms or 2 mattresses in same bedroom. This sounds very unconventional, but better sleep, more energy and better outlook on life is a big return on your initial investment!
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