Research Suggests Sleeping With Partner Helps Your Health

Does your bed partner steal the sheets at night, or insist on keeping the window open, even on freezing nights? Sleeping in the same bed with a partner can sometimes be a challenge.

But there is research out that  suggests sharing a bed can actually be good for your health.

Wendy M. Troxel, a assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, believes shared sleep in healthy relationships can have a significant effect on your health. She suggests that sleeping together lowers the level of the stress hormone cortisol and raise oxytocin, the hormone known to ease anxiety. Sharing a bed may also reduce cytokines, which are involved in inflammation.

“Sleep is a critically important health behavior that we know is associated with heart disease and psychiatric well-being,” she said. “The psychological benefits we get having closeness at night trump the objective costs of sleeping with a partner.”

[The Wall Street Journal]