Bed sharing 'drains men's brains'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5197440.stm

by parenthesis • 18 years ago

37 34 18 years ago

news.bbc.co.uk

calambrac2• 18 years ago

That's not all it drains, am I right? Am I right? Come on, high five!

...

Hmm... I should probably have more karma before making that joke.

mynameishere• 18 years ago

^ not married.

...

hmm, it seems that hacker news is skipping over the reddit and digg phases of social sites, and going straight to /b/

calambrac2• 18 years ago

:) Serious comments for serious stories. Bad pop science deserves to be mocked.

HeyLaughingBoy• 18 years ago

Dunno about that. Maybe he (?) married the right woman :-)

fallentimes• 18 years ago

Not only does your brain get drained, your yammer does too.

Zing!

emmett• 18 years ago

""Historically, we have never been meant to sleep in the same bed as each other. It is a bizarre thing to do. "

...what??? Where did that idea come from? Sleeping with other people is as old as humankind. Beds are unnatural, and having nearly enough space and resources to have one bed per person even more so.

mechanical_fish• 18 years ago

I think you're correct -- but the original sentence is actually very carefully worded so as to include your interpretation.

Never bet against a scientist in a cagey-wording competition. When they're focused on the task, they're almost as bad as lawyers.

DaniFong• 18 years ago

I have to say that Dr Stanley sounds like a serious wet blanket. If sleeping together isn't a natural thing to do, then how come almost everybody in almost every culture does it? And how come people crave cosleeping when deprived?

fauigerzigerk2• 18 years ago

I don't know how humans slept in those hundereds of thousands of years (or millions depending on where you start counting) during which the human race has evolved. What was the climate? How did they defend against enemies? And most importantly, which habits related to sleep affect the likelyhood of procreation most? I must say, I don't know nearly enough to decide whether sleeping close together is the historical norm.

iamwil2• 18 years ago

a sample only ten couples makes me suspect of the results...

silentbicycle• 18 years ago

It says eight couples, over ten days.

I'm not usually one to reflexively write off studies, but this sounds like a group of scientists collectively whining about their spouses hogging the blankets.

jgrahamc• 18 years ago

I agree. You've got only 8 couples over only 10 nights. That's short and a small sample. Also there's no detail on what they did when they slept apart. For example, perhaps the men went off slept in a 5 star hotel and pampered themselves.

Also, this news is from 2006. But it gets worse. If you go find the paper you'll find this abstract:

"Introduction: So far only a few studies (e. g. Meadows et al 2005) have focused on the interrelationship between bedpartners and its effect on sleep and sleep quality. Previous studies were either restricted to women's perceptions and experiences of sleep (Hislop et al 2003) or to interaction between parents and children. Method: The current investigation examined how sleep and sleep quality is influenced by the presence and absence of the bedpartner over a period of four weeks. Couples were young unmarried students (mean age: 25; range: 22 - 26) with no children and no history of sleep disturbances. All subjects filled in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a standardized sleep anamnesis inventory as well as the MEQ- questionnaire to evaluate morning- or evening- chronotypes. Sleep-wake patterns were continuously monitored by wrist-worn actigraphs and all subjects completed a sleep diary including a standardized self-rating scale for subjective sleep and awakening quality every morning. During the investigation period subjects were instructed to spend at least 10 nights together and 10 separately. Results: Preliminary results from three couples (out of 10) show a significant reduction of subjective sleep and awakening quality in the co-sleeping condition as compared to the nights slept alone. This tendency was observed in females as well as in males. Co-sleeping also reduced objective (calculated by actigraphs) and subjective sleep efficiency (sleep log data) with a more pronounced reduction in females. When sleeping alone women have more sleep epochs associated with movements than men. In nights spent together in both females and males the mean activity score increased but the changes were not significant. Discussion: The current investigation examines both gender differences during sleep/wakefulness and the physiological and psychological impact each partner has on the other during sleep."

Key phrase: Preliminary results from three couples (out of 10) show a significant reduction of subjective sleep and awakening quality in the co-sleeping condition as compared to the nights slept alone.

So this is based on just three couples in fact.

iamwil2• 18 years ago

I stand corrected. eight.

eru4• 18 years ago

It's twenty nights, all in all.

Still not much.

fauigerzigerk2• 18 years ago

That's right. Also, I wonder if they asked these couples whether they usually slept together or not. My own experience suggests that this is all a matter of what you are used to.

wastedbrains• 18 years ago

My girlfriend will not be a fan of this article.

ojbyrne2• 18 years ago

They hide the punchline at the very end.

"If they have shared their bed with their partner for a long time they miss them and that will disturb sleep."

In other words, its temporary.

giardini• 18 years ago

Though sex probably has the opposite effect. For example Schrodinger took a vacation with his mistress to work on the wave equation, which he did between lovemaking sessions.

ojbyrne2• 18 years ago

That's even more anecdotal than the article.

hugh• 18 years ago

Counter-anecdote: Erdos.

hhm3• 18 years ago

But Erdos was always on drugs so he might not count.

AndyKelley• 18 years ago

Also to note, the couples who were tested knew that they were sleeping alone because of a test, safe with the comfort that their significant other still loved them. It's a different case when you're sleeping alone and lonely.

time_management• 18 years ago

The quality of the bed has to be a major factor here. How large is the bed? Is the mattress designed so that one person can toss and turn without disturbing the other? (Most aren't.)

rgrieselhuber• 18 years ago

Futons on tatami solve that problem. You're sharing the same space but you aren't disturbed by your partner's movements.

nailer• 18 years ago

And now you no longer have a proper mattress and your knees hurt when you fuck her.

Leave your futon back in 1995 when people ignored its ridiculous impracticalities.

froo• 18 years ago

Seems this article gives weight to the following argument/joke.

"Men were born with a brain and penis and only enough blood to run one at a time"

steveplace• 18 years ago

emailed this to my wife.

Her response: The couch is always open...

aardvarkious• 18 years ago

my wife responded with "not happening"- I've wanted separate beds (mostly jokingly) for awhile.

josefresco• 18 years ago

Solution: 1 bed, two comforters.

Bed sharing 'drains men's brains'

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