Having trouble sleeping? Maybe it’s your partner’s fault
Sharing a bed with someone leads to sleep synchronization. Proximity to your partner during the night can favor some disorders.
Do you suffer from sleep disorders? Do you have trouble falling asleep? Do you wake up several times during the night? The culprit could be right next to you… Lying on the other side of the bed. Researchers at the University of Michigan (United States) evaluated the effects of co-sleeping on mice.
In their recent study, published December 22, 2023 in the journal Current Biology, they used different equipment – wireless devices and video recordings – to monitor the sleep of several mice during a 24-hour cycle.
The scientists then noticed that these small rodents seek physical contact before falling asleep and cuddle together while they sleep. But this physical proximity is not without consequences as mice that spend the night together disturb each other’s sleep.
“The mice were willing to give up their favorite sleeping spot to access social contact. This suggests that motivation for prolonged physical contact drives group behavior,” the authors note in the study release. The need for prolonged physical contact is important for rodents even if there are negative consequences on sleep.
When sleep is coordinated
In humans, the effects of co-sleeping are almost similar. In fact, sleep can be disturbed and insomnia can be transmitted between the two partners. But then, why do animals and humans opt for situations that compromise their sleep?
The team doesn’t have a clear answer to this question. However, he noticed a coordination of different neurophysiological characteristics in people who sleep together, such as when they fall asleep and when they wake up, as well as the intensity of sleep and its different phases.
“The timing of episodes of rapid eye movement sleep, or REM sleep, was synchronized between brothers, but not between sisters who slept together or in unfamiliar mice. This suggests that an individual’s internal state, such as feelings of security, controls the degree of synchronization,” the researchers add.
Before concluding: “Our findings further suggest that an animal’s internal state plays a crucial role in coordinating sleep episodes with rapid eye movements and oscillatory neurophysiological activity. These findings broaden current understanding of the extent to which social factors can modulate sleep. »
Author: lepoint.fr – Seneweb.com
2024-01-07 11:01:29
#trouble #sleeping #partners #fault