But maybe he’s meant to sleep alone. Sleeping in the same bed with another person, studies show, makes men stupider, but not women. Sleeping (literally) together, an expert reports, is "bizarre" behavior, and we can infer it was probably thought up by women.
I told my wife that science supports my demand we sleep in separate rooms.
She said "No."
Wife trumps science every time.
It wasn’t thought up by the woman at my house. And at my house, husband trumps science, practicality and everything else. I’m the one who can’t sleep. It would be nice to believe that simple fact might explain my stupidity.
Well, they were European subjects with odd bedding. I have never fought for my share of a "Duvet" and wouldn’t have one if offered to me. (Duvets seem to require almost equally pricey duvet covers: don’t Euros use top sheets or bathe?) The report doesn’t say anything about objective evidence for the womens’ better am cognition, though, only that they "felt more rested". Ah, Feeelinggs...sing it out. Nothing about "stress hormones" (plural) results either; did they measure am plasma cortisol or 12 hr urinary catecholamines? Who knows? Who cares? Slop-bucket science at worst, crummy journalism at best.
Thanks, Tom. Maybe the study does only apply to "European subjects with odd bedding"--great phrase!
If men are physically larger, and if they tend to "twitch" more in their sleep, and if most don’t have acres of bed, this might be explained as a simple side-effect of physiology...pod-sleeping cramps their style! As for "slop bucket science," I kinda like the phrase, but I’d be careful about slopping it around.
Hmmmm... maybe those 50’s TV censors were right after all.
My wife frequently complains about my snoring, so maybe I should move into the guest room, for our mutual survival.
What I meant to convey was the non-science (aka nonsense) of the study (singular, Peter); ergo, slop-bucket science. Ten couples measured by questionnaires and wrist monitors (monitoring what? Unstated), with some cognitive testing after 10 nights together, 10 nights apart. This is pseudo-quantitative, means nothing in terms of statistical significance. Never forget that SCIENCE IS MORE THAN GENERATING NUMBERS. Science is based on the null hypothesis.
If the study was indeed better scientifically than reported, the flaw is with the journalistic presentation to readers: making it seem meaningful when it’s nothing more than anecdotal.
An amusing post, though, Peter. Thanks, and Happy Easter.
Well, Tom is exactly right, and so this study shouldn’t serve as ammo to change your or your wife’s nocturnal habits. And Happy Easter to Tom and you all.
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