To preserve sleep quality within a couple, one should not strive at all costs to synchronize bedtime and wake-up times due to social pressure, but rather respect each individual's biological rhythm.

noli's read

Research validates the importance of respecting one's own rhythm: the chronotype (our internal biological clock) is largely determined by genetics, as shown by a large observational study published in *Communications Biology* (Richmond et al., 2023). Forcing schedule alignment in partners with incompatible chronotypes (early birds and night owls) impairs the quality of their rest, a finding supported by a cross-sectional study by Jankowski et al. (2022). However, science also shows that synchronization is beneficial when profiles are compatible. A sleep laboratory study published in *Frontiers in Psychiatry* (Drews et al., 2020) reveals that sleeping together and naturally synchronizing cycles increases REM sleep, a key phase for emotional recovery, by 10%. Furthermore, an observational study conducted by Gunn et al. (2015) links high concordance in sleep times to better perceived sleep quality. The claim is therefore highly relevant for biologically asynchronous couples, even if natural synchronization remains a valuable asset for others.

the sources

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