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Separate rooms back in vogue in US homes

It's a problem familiar to anyone with a partner who snores or steals the bedclothes, the tiredness and irritability that comes from a lack of a good night's rest.

But the US, it seems, is waking up to the idea that sleeping apart can bring a couple closer together.

Separate master bedroom suites, once a luxury reserved only for well-off characters in classic Hollywood movies, are in increasing demand among the nation's sleep-deprived public and house builders aren't about to be caught napping.

"It started with the his-and-hers closet, then it was the his- and-hers bathroom, now the demand is for the his-and-hers bedroom," said Gopal Ahluwalia, research vice-president of the National Association of Home Builders. "It's a market-driven demand that's going to continue."

A "home of the future" study carried out by the association last month (FEB) predicted that more than 60 percent of custom-built houses in the US will have two master bedroom suites by 2015.

Such a trend can only be good for marital harmony, sleep experts say.

"One of the keys to a good relationship is having a good night's sleep," said Paul Rosenblatt, a social sciences professor at the University of Minnesota and author of the book Two in a Bed: The social system of couple bed sharing.

Public discussion of a couple's separate sleeping arrangements was once taboo for fear it presented a picture of a failing relationship. But it is becoming a popular topic in an age when many people rarely get the recommended seven to eight hours' sleep a night.

Women also seem to suffer more than men. A study of women aged 18 to 64 by the National Sleep Foundation found that 64 percent suffered sleeping problems that made them late for work, stressed out and too tired for sex.
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