Most marriage vows include a promise of lifelong fidelity and commitment, and people earnestly mean those vows when they initially make them. Therefore, many people in struggling marriages explore every viable solution to their current relationship issues that they can before they decide to file for divorce.
Some people have started talking publicly about sleep divorce as a way of helping those in struggling long-term marriages work on their relationship and potentially protect the health of the individual spouses. Can a sleep divorce actually help someone avoid the need to file for a real divorce?
How a sleep divorce works
Unlike a legal divorce where people separate their lives and their relationship with one another, a sleep divorce just means moving to separate bedrooms. Couples in numerous different circumstances may benefit from sleep divorces. Those who work different schedules can sleep separately to eliminate interruptions in rest for both spouses. When one spouse has health issues, like sleep apnea, that lead to snoring, their snoring could end up affecting their spouse’s health by diminishing the quality of their sleep. Even households where one person likes to toss and turn and the other is a light sleeper could benefit from spouses sleeping in separate rooms.
How a sleep divorce can potentially help
When people don’t get enough sleep, their exhaustion affects every aspect of their lives. Their moods and personalities may change. They may struggle with patience and impulse control. They may become more irritable, especially toward the person that they blame for their poor sleep. In some cases, long-term sleep issues can translate to physical health problems.
If most of the strain on the relationship comes from a lack of sleep and therefore increasing tension between spouses, then a sleep divorce could be a viable solution for the family’s needs. For many households, a sleep divorce may only be a stepping stone toward more permanent solutions, including divorce.
Those who are discussing a sleep divorce with their spouse may also want to talk about a postnuptial agreement, as they could refocus on the issues in their relationship to improve things while simultaneously paving the way for a less difficult divorce if they can’t work things out with one another. Looking into alternative solutions like sleep divorces and postnuptial agreements with the assistance of an experienced legal professional can potentially benefit those who are worried about the long-term viability of their marriages.
