Air date: August 14, 2011

Host: Jeremy Shere, PhD

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Did you Know? is presented by Wishard Health Services, becoming Eskenazi Health in 2014.

Getting a good night’s sleep is important for well-being. But did you know that getting too little sleep can muck up your marriage?

According to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, women who have trouble falling asleep tend to have more negative interactions with their husbands the following day.

Men, though, don’t seem to suffer from a lack of sleep in the same way. Whether guys fall asleep right away or toss and turn all night, they seem to get along just fine with their better halves.

So why does fitful sleep affect wives more than husbands?

The researchers speculate that because women on average tend to be more communicative, a poor night’s sleep may lead them to express irritability and frustration. Men, meanwhile, tend to keep those negative feelings to themselves.

That doesn’t hold true for all wives and husbands, of course. And the study’s sample size of 35 couples is too small to prove anything. But it does add to growing evidence that quality of sleep can affect relationships, for better and worse.

And now you know.

Did You Know is presented by Senior Care at Wishard, answering your questions at LivingLongerBetter.org.

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Additional Resources:

• Get details on the University of Pittsburgh research finding that sleep problems cause marriage troubles.