One of the most effective things couples can do for their relationship may also be one of the easiest: going to bed at the same time.
In a survey of 2,000 married people, those who turned in together at least four nights a week were far more likely to describe their marriage as “very happy” than those who did so only once a week. Around 58 percent said the habit made them feel closer to their partner, and a similar share said it improved intimacy.
The research suggests the appeal isn’t only physical. Work by psychologists Dr. Sarah Coyne and Brandon McDaniel, who studied 289 people in long-term relationships, found that bedtime is often “the day’s most important contact opportunity” for couples — and that watching television, reading side by side, or simply talking before sleep can all deepen a sense of belonging.
Millennials in particular reported sleeping better when their schedule matched their partner’s. Across age groups, the takeaway was the same: a shared wind-down routine, however low-key, quietly builds connection.
The lesson isn’t that couples must be in perfect lockstep every night, but that protecting a little shared time before sleep pays outsized dividends for how close two people feel.
