A recent study done in England showed that 30 to 40 percent of couples sleep apart. Americans are lagging behind the Brits a bit — a 2005 study showed nearly 25 percent of American couples sleep in different bedrooms.
The experts say the trend will grow. The National Association of Homebuilders predicts by next year 60 percent of custom homes will have separate master suites.
Here are three famous couples who decided — for better or for worse — to sleep apart:
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip…was there ever a more stately sounding couple? The royal pair spend their nights royally separated, as is the custom of royal modesty and the upper-crust society of England.
Kevin Jonas and Daniella Deleasa
That’s right; he of the Jonas brothers boy band sleeps in a separate bedroom from his wife. Bride Daniella says the separation is due to Kevin’s snoring, a popular reason for couples who’d rather not share a bedroom. Just ask our next couple…
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
The long-defunct couple practiced the custom of sleeping apart. The actor of too-many-movies-to-count fame is a serial snorer. Holmes confined Cruise to a “snoratorium”, a specially designed bedroom where Tom could snore to his heart’s content.
A Deeper Look at Couples Sleeping Behavior
We’ve certainly made light of the aforementioned couples — royal and roiling — because, well, it’s fun to take light-hearted jabs at celebrities.
However, we’ve discovered these couples point us to a larger question: Do their habits mirror the overall tendencies of the less well-known sleeper?
According to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2011 poll exploring bedroom habits, the co-sleeping picture isn’t as bleak as you think. Nine out of 10 people who were either married, partnered or living with someone slept within cuddle-distance of their significant other.
But spouses and partners apparently aren’t our only co-sleepers: 10 percent of cohabiting people slept with their child(ren) and/or with their pet(s) while only six percent slept alone.
And regardless of what celebrities are up to, the overwhelming majority of us apparently prefers to snuggle up: Among all people surveyed – not just those with significant others – seven out of 10 slept with someone else while one in five people indicated they slept alone.
This past year the National Sleep Foundation published an international poll in which they surveyed sleepers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan and Mexico.
They found that the Japanese were four times more like than Germans to sleep alone. In fact, the survey discovered, 28% of respondents from Japan said they slept alone.
Of the six countries surveyed, Americans were the least likely to sleep with their children.
Queen Photo Credit: Maxwell Hamilton, Flicker Creative Commons
Jonas Photo Credit: Digitas Photos, Flickr Creative Commons
Cruise Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr Creative Commons