Jackie McGregor: Goodnight sweetheart – sleep divorces in NI are highest in the UK
GOODNIGHT SWEETHEART – SLEEP DIVORCES IN NI ARE HIGHEST IN THE UK
Are you sleeping with the enemy? I refer to your enemy of sleep. As much as we love our partners, our feelings for them can become less than adoring when we turn out the lights.
As night falls, bedrooms across the nation can become the stuff of nightmares as we brace ourselves to endure our bedfellows’ nocturnal habits. These night terrors can include a partner’s thunderous snoring, or perhaps you’re married to a bit of a tosser, whose restless rolling from side to side, disturbs your sleep.
Due to nocturnal disturbances, many couples are now opting for a "sleep divorce." The term might sound alarming, but it simply refers to couples choosing to no longer share a bed but sleep separately.
Research shows that Northern Ireland has a higher percentage of couples who chose to sleep apart compared to other regions in the UK. This trend is being recognised and catered for within NI. A hotel in Enniskillen offers sleep divorce packages, where you can spend a romantic day together then slope off to your own room at night for an evening of undisturbed slumber.
Sleep divorce isn’t about a troubled relationship, it’s about prioritising good sleep health. There are many reasons why a couple no longer wish to share a bed, including medical conditions, illnesses that make sleeping together uncomfortable, or frequent getting up in the night. Some couples have differing sleep schedules, if one is a night owl and one is an early bird, this can negatively impact on both partners’ sleep.
The notion of sleep divorce has gained visibility with celebrities openly discussing their own bedtime arrangements.
Victoria and David Beckham have admitted to sometimes sleeping separately, though for them, it’s not separate beds or even rooms, it’s separate “his” and “hers” wings of their home! (How the other half live! Many might like a sleep divorce but just don’t have the room to facilitate it.)
President Trump and his wife Melania, and Sarah Jessica Parker and husband Matthew Broderick, are also advocates of sleep divorce. Bette Midler revealed the secret to her 40-year marriage is separate bedrooms, because of her husband’s snoring.
Many couples have found sleeping apart is the key to improving their relationship, they don’t see it as a statement of rejection but more of a statement of need.
We all require a good night’s sleep to function properly, lack of sleep can have a significant effect on physical and mental health. Sleep deprivation can cause cardiovascular problems, metabolic disorders and weakened immune systems. The mental effects include difficulty concentrating, trouble remembering things and impaired judgement.
Lack of sleep is no joke and when your partner is the cause of it, sleeping apart helps to keep the peace during waking hours, rather than glaring daggers at them with resentment. I know this from personal experience, being married to a snorer. When first wed, I thought it unromantic to leave the bed, twenty years down the line, when his snores are rattling the windows, I now lovingly lower my fist from hovering above his sleeping face and slink off to the spare room. Next day we can laugh about his deafening snorts because I haven’t had to endure them.
As the old saying goes, laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone!
HAS BRITIAN REALLY GOT TALENT? THIS SHOW WAS ONCE FART-TASTIC!
If you were about to watch a TV show called, “Bob Paints Pictures,” you would likely expect to see someone named Bob paint some pictures. So, if you tune into the show entitled “Britian’s Got Talent,” wouldn’t you expect to view talented Brits?
I was eating my Saturday night takeaway with BGT on in the background. I haven't watched it lately since I'm usually busy "hate watching" shows like “Love at First Sight Australia” or something equally tacky.
It came to my notice that most contestants on the show were not native Britons. There were performers from France, Italy, India, Zimbabwe, South Korea, and Vietnam (he had to be accompanied on stage with an interpreter). The show's title "Britain" made their origins stand out. Why so many non-British performers?
The show’s eligibility criteria allow people to enter who can demonstrate that they have the right to be in the UK, perform in the programme and take up any related prize. This opens the competition up to any nationality.
Apparently, the show’s producers prioritize entertainment value and look for the most captivating and diverse acts, regardless of their origin. If that’s the case, what was so captivating about Ichikawa Koikuchi, the 2023 contestant who blew out birthday candles with his flatulent backside and fired darts with his trumps! The judges thought him fart-tastic, I beg to differ!
Evidently it appears Britain doesn’t have much talent and judging by the guy from India who did impersonations of vehicle engines last Saturday, talent seems a bit thin on the ground globally too!