Separate Sleepers: Couples Snooze in Different Rooms

March 13, 2007 — -- Couples across the country are now sleeping in separate rooms, but the separation isn't about trouble in the relationship, it's about trouble sleeping.

Husband and wife Robert and Sandy Cady do everything together -- except sleep.

Sandy's snoring, which Robert compares to a freight train, used to leave him bleary-eyed. In the morning, she would find him asleep on the couch. Now they say their move to separate beds actually helps keep their marriage together.

"I didn't like the idea that he didn't want to sleep with me anymore. So it made me understand we both needed our sleep," Sandy said. "He would be grumpy. I would be grumpy, and that's not good for our marriage."

They're not alone. Three-quarters of Americans say they often wake up during the night or snore.

But a growing number of couples have overcome a societal stigma and sleep in separate bedrooms.

Builders say buyers often ask for separate his-and-her bedrooms. In fact, in a National Association of Home Builders survey, builders predicted 60 percent of custom homes would be built with two master bedrooms by 2015.

"He works late. … She e-mails. … Whatever the reason, people really just want their privacy and their alone time," said Carol Wall, president of Mitchell Wall Architects. "It's just a new lifestyle choice."

Married 31 years, Missouri couple Joe and Ann Levasseur aren't compatible sleepers. Ann stays up into the wee hours reading and Joe gets up at 5 a.m. to head to work.

"The reason for being in a separate bedroom is not because you don't like each other -- it's because we do like each other," Joe said.

Even the lingo is changing. Instead of the male-dominated phrase "master bedroom," many builders now advertise "owners' suites."