Chris sleeps on the couch. He sleeps on the couch because he loves me. We are incompatible sleepers. I go to bed early; he goes to bed late. His snores could wake people across town and I’m a very light sleeper. Despite all of this, I decided recently that the separate sleeping thing was wrong. The couch is way uncomfortable and recent heating costs have our thermostat set on 60 so it’s way too cold for him out there. Plus, I feel bad. We are a married couple. We should sleep in the same bed.
The experiment has been going on for almost a month and it doesn’t look good. Some nights are better than others. I bought some plastic ear-plugs that I smash into my ear, but they aren’t snore proof like the box suggests. I think I could get used to the snoring if muted through the ear-plugs, but the constant jerking as if he’s been electrocuted thing has to stop. He has no idea he’s doing it and it shakes the whole bed.
The other problem is I probably only sleep a good four hours a night anyway. I usually start waking up and checking the clock around 2:30-3:00 AM and this is generally the time Chris comes to bed. It was so bad this morning that, at 3:45, I tried to tie a sock around his head in order to keep his jaw closed. The sock was too small. Chris ended up back on the couch. Of course, once he was on the couch he stopped snoring. AaaHHHHH!!!
I think I’m going to have to start medicating myself, but I swear as God is my witness, Chris will never sleep on the couch again! We will fix this…somehow.
Oh my god, I think I really do have Wreckless Legs Syndrome…and the Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep thing.
I’m sure you have it. Now will you listen to me when I tell you you need to stretch and do yoga with me?!?
Scott and I do the same thing.
There was a piece in either the NYT or the WaPo a few weeks ago about couples sleeping apart.
Perhaps Chris has sleep apnea. The Pete probably does; he usually snores (loudly) and occassionally does the jerky thing, too. One of these days, we need to make an appointment for him to take the sleep test, and then he’ll probably be fitted for a sleep aide thingie (think Darth Vader, in the bedroom). This way, he’ll be able to take in enough air (having sleep apnea is like trying to breathe through a straw) and so get a better night’s rest. Right now, he can fall asleep easily anywhere. One time, he feel asleep at work on his MOUSE. I bet that looked cute!
I thought it might be sleep apnea, but I’m not so sure. He doesn’t have all the symptoms and if you hold his jaw shut with the underside of his chin flat, he doesn’t snore. He needs a chin strap.
I bet a bra would work. Just make sure you use the kind without wire! :p
Ugh, poor Chris and poor you! AM used to snore, but then we upgraded our furnace filters to the super-duper allergen resistant ones made out of
gold, and we change them really regularly.
Since Chris doesn’t snore when he has his head bound with a bra, it doesn’t sound like sleep apnea (as you said). When AM has allergy problems, he tends to breathe through his mouth and snore loudly (and I never thought of tying his mouth closed). Have you tried allergy medication? Or do you think it’s something else?
I think allergies play a part. It would probably help us both if we just pulled up the crappy carpet. It does help a little bit when he takes an antihistimine/decongestion before bed.