It’s not just fighting that can tear a relationship apart — lack of sleep can also contribute to problems between you and your partner (not to mention, your health!)
Your marriage has been through it’s ups and downs. Over the years, you’ve shared your secrets, your dreams, and one bathroom, which has brought you closer and made your relationship stronger. But there is a force out there that threatens to dismantle everything you’ve worked towards. An unfortunate occurrence that has been known to cause misery since the beginning of time: lack of sleep. But all joking aside, the ways sleep deprivation affects your marriage can be serious, but it’s nothing you and your partner can’t handle.
Lack of Sleep Raises Inflammation Levels
A new study in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology says that not getting enough Z’s can raise inflammation levels, and this, when paired with spousal fights, can lead to marital stress and a decline in health.
“Part of the issue in a marriage is that sleep patterns often track together. If one person is restless or has chronic problems, that can impact the other’s sleep. If these problems persist over time, you can get this nasty reverberation within the couple,”
Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, senior author and director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research.
And if the couple has children, there’s potential for sleep interruption from the moment a baby is born and for several years afterwards.
Anyone ever pick a fight with you when you haven’t had enough shut eye?
Then you know that those arguments aren’t always the prettiest sight. In an study published in the journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science, researchers found that couples have more conflicts occur from sleep deprivation, even when only one of them is short on sleep. This study also found that tired couples had less empathy for one another when trying to reach conflict resolution.
Use this as a reason to team up and investigate the problem – together.
Choosing between losing sleep and sleeping apart can be difficult, but there is a third choice: to seek help together as a couple.
If anything, having a spouse there to bring attention to repeated snoring, can actually help identify if there’s an actual health issue that needs to be addressed. So why not work on this problem together?
Contact Chana today for more information on couples therapy.
Consider infertility counseling if your sadness, depression, worrying, and/or anxiety is prolonged and affecting areas of your life. It is important to seek professional help in times of despair. A certified therapist can teach you coping skills and strategies to hopefully alleviate some of the emotional stress you are dealing with. You don’t have to do it alone. Talk to Chana today.
If you are in a relationship, it is natural to feel a little jealous at times, especially if you have very strong feelings for your partner.
A 
Sometimes, it can be very hard to overcome disagreements and you two might feel stuck – not knowing how or when to communicate to get past it.