Heavy workloads, conflicting working hours and hectic social lives are stopping couples from going to bed at the same time

And a third of people reported having arguments or shorter tempers as a result of being woken up by their partner getting to bed at a different time

A third of people reported having arguments or shorter tempers as a result of being woken up by their partner getting to bed at a different time (Tina Franklin/Flickr)

The majority of British couples consistently go to bed at different times each week because of heavy workloads, conflicting office hours and hectic social lives, according to new research.

A new study, commissioned by Warren Evans, found that three quarters of couples climbed into bed at different times to each other often because one partner is either out, at work, at home but dealing with work via email, or online, sometimes up to four times a week.

Other reasons leaving people to crawl into bed without their partners included their other halves staying up late to watch their favourite programme or a sporting event, wanting to shop online or play video games, and taking it in turns to look after children.

The research showed that of the 2,000 people surveyed, 53 per cent of people had conflicting work schedules to their partner’s, leaving three in 10 to sleep in another room so as not to disturb their partner when getting into bed.

But not all couples chose to sleep separately, and a third of people reported having arguments or shorter tempers as a result of being woken up by their partner getting to bed at a different time from them, while 66 per cent said their partner was the main reason their sleep was disrupted.

People who said they experienced relationship issues caused by different sleeping habits and by going to bed at different times cited missing the closeness of going to sleep together as their biggest issue.

Dave Gibson, Sleep Advisor to Warren Evans, said: “The evenings are often the only chance people get to relax and break from a hectic routine and so people want to make the most of it but this often leads to a later bedtime - meaning poorer sleep quantity and the problem of waking a partner who has already gone to bed.”