3 ms·

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

• silentbicycle 18y 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 18y 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.
    • eru 18y ago
      For 10$ you should be able to hire around a thousand mturkers in the name of science.
  • iamwil 18y ago
    I stand corrected. eight.
  • eru 18y ago
    It's twenty nights, all in all. Still not much.
• fauigerzigerk 18y 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.