Men and women often experience different sleep disorders. Both sexes also sleep differently so some of their sleep problems can only be eased if married couples sleep in separate bedrooms, as do almost a quarter of couples do.

Some of the sleep problems women suffer are:

• Insomnia where they often have more trouble falling asleep and staying asleep
• They more often suffer from night-time pain
• More likely to suffer from depression which can lead to sleep problems
• Can suffer from a rare sleep disorder known as sleep-related eating disorder where a person eats during the night but doesn’t remember doing so
• Drinking alcohol that is more likely to disrupt a women’s sleep
• Hormonal changes from pregnancy, menopause and menstruation often cause sleep problems
• Getting less sleep when together with their husbands (often big snorers)

Some sleep issues that affect men are:

• Obstructive sleep apnea, especially if they are overweight. During an episode of sleep apnea the men will stop breathing for a period of time and that causes a lack of oxygen to their brains. They then let out a startling snore as they start breathing again. This may happen dozens of hundreds of times each night with the men never waking up during an episode but also getting a very fragmented sleep so they awake unrefreshed the next morning
• Benign prostate enlargement and have to urinate one or more times per night
  There seems to a few general facts about sleep partners. First, the person snores always falls asleep first and the covers are never large enough as someone is often going without

Men and women suffer from different sleep problems but a harmonious bedroom can still be achieved if one or both seek out treatment and make getting a good night’s sleep a higher priority.