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Effect of sleeping alone on sleep quality in female bed partners of snorers

¹ Physiology and Functional Testing, AP-HP, Raymond Poincaré Teaching Hospital, Université Versailles-St Quentin en Yvelines, Garches, ² Technological Innovations Centre, Garches, ³ Centre Médical Veille-Sommeil, Paris, ⁴ Physiology and Functional Testing, AP-HP, Bichat-Claude Bernard Teaching Hospital, Paris, ⁵ Association d'Entraide des Polios et Handicapés (ADEP Assistance), Puteaux, and ⁶ Foch Teaching Hospital, Université Versailles-St Quentin en Yvelines, Suresnes, France.

CORRESPONDENCE: M. Blumen, Sleep unit, Raymond Poincaré Teaching Hospital, 104 Boulevard Raymond Poincaré, 92380 Garches, France. E-mail: mbjblu{at}club-internet.fr

Keywords: Bed partner, sleep apnoea syndrome, snoring

Received: January 23, 2009
Accepted May 31, 2009

The aim of the present study was to objectively measure the effect of sleeping alone for one night on sleep quality in female bed partners of male snorers.

Females complaining of poor sleep due to snoring by their bed partner and having no known hearing loss or snoring were included in a prospective multicentre cross-sectional study. 23 females underwent one polysomnography recording while sleeping with their bed partner and another while sleeping alone. Their sleep parameters were compared between the two nights.

We excluded seven couples because the female partner snored for >10% of the sleep time (n = 6) or had obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (n = 1). In the remaining 16 females, sleep time, sleep efficiency, arousal index and percentages of deep sleep (stages 3–4) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep were not significantly different between the two nights. Percentages of light sleep (non-REM stage 2) and awakening index were lower when sleeping alone (p = 0.023 and p = 0.046, respectively).

Sleep quality was decreased and sleep fragmentation increased in females sleeping with male snorers. Some females had unrecognised snoring. However, our data do not suggest that objective sleep quality improves substantially in the female nonsnoring partner when she sleeps alone for one night.