10 recognizable irritations when sharing a bed with your loved one
I regularly hear my girlfriends say that they absolutely cannot sleep without their loved one. At least, they can, but they sleep much better together. How do I experience this? Exactly the opposite: I can't close my eyes when my loved one is lying next to me. Don't get me wrong: I find snuggling under the covers very cozy and pleasant, but as soon as it's time to sleep, hell begins for me. I can really only relax when I have the bed (the bed, that is) all to myself.
Do people recognize this? Then you undoubtedly also get extremely annoyed by the situations below:
1. The light from that damn phone/laptop
This is perhaps my biggest annoyance: when I’m trying to sleep peacefully, but my partner can’t sleep yet and decides to watch something on his phone/laptop, with the brightness set to maximum. I believe I hear myself saying (screaming) every night: ‘Can you please turn that brightness down?! I can see this light through my eyelids.’ Pure misery.
2. The sound of football matches
Okay, I actually find this at least as bad as my first point. Lately, I try to read a bit every night before I go to sleep. Well, everyone has their own way of relaxing, so my loved one likes to watch football to unwind, even in bed. You guessed it: those football sounds annoy me immensely when I want to read a book in complete silence. And no, earbuds are not the solution either, because I can still hear the noise through them.
3. Having a different rhythm
The main culprit when you share a bed: both having a different rhythm. I prefer to get up on time and go to bed early, but my loved one is definitely a night owl who can’t be made tired before midnight. That’s a disaster for both: when my alarm goes off, he’s furious in bed, and when he brushes his teeth (with that noisy electric toothbrush), I’m huffing under the covers. Other than that, we’re fine, really.
4. Someone is lying on your side
I love lying in each other's arms, until the moment comes when it’s time to sleep. Then I absolutely must lie only on my own side, and no toe or finger is allowed to cross into my territory. If I wake up at night and my loved one has moved to my side? I roll him straight back to the other half.
5. Not having a blanket
Another dreadful scenario: waking up in the middle of the night from the cold because there’s no blanket over you anymore. Then you have to fight tooth and nail to get that blanket back, because your partner is now completely rolled up in it. Nobody has time for that at night, right?
6. Snoring
Or worse than snoring: heavy breathing. That makes me so anxious. My loved one always gets angry – somewhat understandably – when I wake him up for this reason. ‘Can’t I just breathe?’ he asks. ‘Yes, but not like that, please.’
7. Muscle twitches
Another thing you can’t really do anything about and that almost everyone suffers from. But I still get startled every time my partner suddenly has muscle twitches in bed. Then, of course, I wake him up with my dramatic reaction. After that, we’re both wide awake together.
8. Needing to pee at night
This always comes with noise, despite the fact that the other tries everything to make no sound. A toe that gets stubbed or a head, which then turns on the light again. As soon as the other needs to go to the bathroom, the peace is over.
9. One is a cuddler and the other a solo sleeper
As you might have guessed, I belong to the solo sleeper category. My loved one finds this (quite understandably) very unsociable and always tries to throw a leg or an arm around me at some point during the night. You guessed it: this is not appreciated. My theory is that solo sleepers actually just suffer from claustrophobia and therefore prefer not to be held tightly.
10. Not being able to sleep like a starfish anymore
Last but not least: when you share a bed, you can no longer lie horizontally in bed, or like a starfish with your arms and legs spread out. If you ask me what I miss about being single, this is the answer. So enjoy this, singles.
