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Partner, travel & environment: what the research actually says

Your bed partner, hotel rooms and the first night anywhere new all change your sleep in measurable, testable ways.

All studies · 5

Bed-sharing in couples is associated with increased and stabilized REM sleep and sleep-stage synchronizationDrews HJ, Wallot S, Brysch P, et al. · Frontiers in Psychiatry 11:583 · 2020Counterpoint: in young couples, co-sleeping increased REM — the effect of a partner is individual; test it.Two in a bed: the influence of couple sleeping and chronotypes on relationship and sleep. An overviewRichter K, Adam S, Geiss L, Peter L, Niklewski G · Chronobiology International 33(10):1464–1472 · 2016Objective sleep is often worse when sharing a bed, though subjective satisfaction can be higher — hence the 'partial sleep divorce'.Night watch in one brain hemisphere during sleep associated with the first-night effect in humansTamaki M, Bang JW, Watanabe T, Sasaki Y · Current Biology 26(9):1190–1194 · 2016On the first night in a new place, one hemisphere sleeps lighter and is more responsive to sounds — the first-night effect is a vigilance mechanism.Effect of inhaled lavender and sleep hygiene on self-reported sleep issues: a randomized controlled trialLillehei AS, Halcón LL, Savik K, Reis R · Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 21(7):430–438 · 2015Lavender inhalation plus sleep hygiene improved sleep quality more than hygiene alone — a small, safe 'stackable win'.It's more than sex: exploring the dyadic nature of sleep and implications for healthTroxel WM · Psychosomatic Medicine 72(6):578–586 · 2010Sleep is dyadic: partners' movements, schedules and conflict measurably shape each other's sleep.

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Frequently asked questions

What does the research say about partner, travel & environment?

Sleep is dyadic: partners' movements, schedules and conflict measurably shape each other's sleep.

How do I track partner, travel & environment?

SleepShred logs it in about 20 seconds a day and then compares your nights with and without it, so you see the effect on your own sleep instead of the study average.

Is SleepShred free?

No. SleepShred Pro is $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year, with no free trial and no ads. Everything stays on your iPhone.

Track it, don't guess it

SleepShred turns this research into a 20-second daily habit: log your night, see which of your own behaviours move your sleep, and screen for the disorders nobody diagnoses.

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Educational summary of published research, not medical advice. Screening scores are not diagnoses. If a score is elevated or you feel unwell, talk to a clinician.