We tend to think of sleep as personal, a process confined to our bodies. But sleep occurs in a social context, even for people who live alone.
We share time zones; work standardized hours that incline most of us to sleep at similar times; abide by noise ordinances at night; limit light, sound and rolling over to accommodate bed partners; and suffer with all-night snowplows and early garbage trucks. Even our private ruminations as we lie in bed with insomnia are often about other people.
As a sleep psychologist, I treat individuals. But the irony is that often their problems are inflamed by other people. Even within the milieu of a cooperative household, one person’s sleep can occur at the expense of another person’s sleep. Examples include snoring and caring for an infant throughout the night.
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