"You're annoying!"
If you have a Millennial child, you probably heard that denunciation at some point. If you're a married senior, you've probably pegged your partner as being annoying in some fashion. Except for how they act when they sleep.
Yes, for those of you who have a snorer by your side, you probably think you're one of many – and you may be, but it's not something that's make you walk away from your relationship according to new research. It found that just 7% of seniors have broken up with a partner due to their annoying sleep habits.
The survey of 2,000 general population Americans — including 485 respondents from the Baby Boomer and Silent Generation cohorts, ages 62 and up — revealed 3% of seniors have ended a relationship solely due to their ex-partner's disruptive nighttime habits, while 5% said this was part of why the relationship failed.
And for the seniors who have broken up with a partner over their sleep habits, 42% were honest about this being the reason.
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To Tell the Truth
Commissioned by Avocado Green Mattress and conducted by Talker Research, respondents were asked to share what specifically led to the end of the relationship.
Overall, survey respondents pointed to a range of specific grievances. Snoring was mentioned in 62% of free-text responses, including one who said their ex "snored like a chainsaw" and they "couldn't take it anymore."
Others cited more particular complaints, with one respondent sharing their previous partner "watch[ed] war shows all night," while another said, "eating potato chips in bed was the final straw."
Here's a nutshell graph of what seniors said was the most annoying:
"As wonderful as it can be to share a bed with someone you love, it can also be difficult to mesh two sleep schedules and all the various sleep habits we each have," said Laura Scott , director of brand marketing at Avocado Green Mattress. "While it's a cliché to say, communication is key.
"Everyone has different needs at night: some people prefer to sleep with noise — even war shows — while others need silence, so talking to your partner and figuring out a compromise is the best way to move forward, versus arguing about it nightly."
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Forgiveness, Acceptance, Commitment.
As author Stormie Omartian says: "Forgiveness doesn't make the other person right, it makes you free" and it relates very well to this topic when you look at this metric: nearly three in five seniors (58%) said they're willing to accept their partner's disruptive sleep habits.
But many seniors have still taken steps to alleviate these annoying habits — either their own or their partner's. Roughly 1 in 5 (19%) have tried supplements or medication, while 22% admit to sleeping in separate beds or bedrooms.
To try and get a better night's sleep, seniors have also changed their mattress (10%), tried wearing headphones (5%), been to a doctor (10%) or changed the bedframe or base (3%).
"It can be hard to sleep next to someone who's snoring, or constantly tossing and turning," said Scott.
"While wearing headphones might block out the noise, a more comfortable solution would be to look at your mattress and your bedframe to ensure you and your partner have proper support at night. This can help reduce these disruptive sleep habits, and ensure everyone gets a better night's rest."
