{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T18:25:58Z","timestamp":1781634358337,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,10]],"date-time":"2021-05-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620604800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:bold>Background\/Objectives:<\/jats:bold>Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep is associated with memory consolidation and several health effects including stress response, mental health, and longevity. Recently, it has been shown that regularly co-sleeping couples have increased and stabilized REM sleep when co-sleeping as compared to sleeping individually. However, it remained unclear whether this is due to a specific effect of altering the usual sleeping environment by partner deprivation or due to a generalizable REM-sleep promoting effect of couple relationships. The present study aims to clarify this ambiguity.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Methods:<\/jats:bold>Married or never married individuals were taken from the Sleep Heart Health Study (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>= 5,804) and matched regarding sociodemographic and health parameters. Matching was done using propensity score matching (1:1, nearest neighbor) and resulted in two groups of<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>= 69 each (married vs. never married). After confirmation of successful matching, samples were compared regarding REM sleep and other polysomnographic parameters (paired Students<jats:italic>t<\/jats:italic>-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests).<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Results:<\/jats:bold>Married individuals showed significantly higher levels of total and relative REM sleep as compared to never married individuals (all<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>'s \u2264 0.003). Neither other sleep stages nor REM-sleep fragmentation differed between groups (all<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>'s \u2265 0.29). Results regarding number of sleep cycles were ambiguous.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Conclusion:<\/jats:bold>This is the first between-subjects study to show that couple relationships are associated with increased REM sleep. This finding represents a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for the previously hypothesized self-enhancing feedback loop of REM sleep and sociality as well as for REM-sleep promotion as a mechanism through which couple relationships prevent mental illness.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2021.641102","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,10]],"date-time":"2021-05-10T05:39:59Z","timestamp":1620625199000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Couple Relationships Are Associated With Increased REM Sleep\u2014A Proof-of-Concept Analysis of a Large Dataset Using Ambulatory Polysomnography"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Henning Johannes","family":"Drews","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Annika","family":"Drews","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conb.2017.05.001","article-title":"REM sleep and memory","volume":"44","author":"Boyce","year":"2017","journal-title":"Curr Opin Neurobiol"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1055\/s-0031-1299721","article-title":"REM sleep instability\u2013a new pathway for insomnia?","volume":"45","author":"Riemann","year":"2012","journal-title":"Pharmacopsychiatry"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2538","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1522520113","article-title":"Slow dissolving of emotional distress contributes to hyperarousal","volume":"113","author":"Wassing","year":"2016","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"105642","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bandc.2020.105642","article-title":"The association between emotional dysregulation and REM sleep features in insomnia disorder","volume":"146","author":"Galbiati","year":"2020","journal-title":"Brain Cogn"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"367","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sleep.2020.04.015","article-title":"Psychotic-like experiences in patients with insomnia or sleep apnea: associations with sleep parameters","volume":"77","author":"G\u00f6der","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sleep Med"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2733","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1816456116","article-title":"REM sleep's unique associations with corticosterone regulation, apoptotic pathways, and behavior in chronic stress in mice","volume":"116","author":"Nollet","year":"2019","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1001\/jamaneurol.2020.2108","article-title":"Association of rapid eye movement sleep with mortality in middle-aged and older adults","volume":"77","author":"Leary","year":"2020","journal-title":"JAMA Neurol"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pneurobio.2007.01.004","article-title":"The neurobiological characteristics of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep are candidate endophenotypes of depression, schizophrenia, mental retardation and dementia","volume":"81","author":"Gottesmann","year":"2007","journal-title":"Prog Neurobiol"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1152\/physrev.00046.2019","article-title":"Brain mechanisms of insomnia: new perspectives on causes and consequences","volume-title":"Physiol Rev","author":"Van Someren","year":"2020"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychires.2020.12.009","article-title":"REM density is associated with treatment response in major depression: Antidepressant pharmacotherapy vs. psychotherapy","volume":"133","author":"Lechinger","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Psychiatr Res"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"256","DOI":"10.1080\/15402000701557383","article-title":"The effect of psychosocial stress on sleep: a review of polysomnographic evidence","volume":"5","author":"Kim","year":"2007","journal-title":"Behav Sleep Med"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"99","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2007.06.001","article-title":"Stress-induced changes in sleep in rodents: models and mechanisms","volume":"32","author":"Pawlyk","year":"2008","journal-title":"Neurosci Biobehav Rev"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"583","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2020.00583","article-title":"Bed-sharing in couples is associated with increased and stabilized REM sleep and sleep-stage synchronization","volume":"11","author":"Drews","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front Psychiatry"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"330","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-8986.1969.tb02910.x","article-title":"Transient changes in eeg sleep patterns of married good sleepers: the effects of altering sleeping arrangement","volume":"6","author":"Monroe","year":"1969","journal-title":"Psychophysiology"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"578","DOI":"10.1097\/PSY.0b013e3181de7ff8","article-title":"It's more than sex: exploring the dyadic nature of sleep and implications for health","volume":"72","author":"Troxel","year":"2010","journal-title":"Psychosom Med"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sleep.2017.02.009","article-title":"Further evidences for sleep instability and impaired spindle-delta dynamics in schizophrenia: a whole-night polysomnography study with neuroloop-gain and sleep-cycle analysis","volume":"38","author":"Sasidharan","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sleep Med"},{"key":"B17","first-page":"igx015","article-title":"Marriage, cohabitation, and divorce in later life","volume-title":"Innov Aging","author":"Brown","year":"2017"},{"key":"B18","unstructured":"2012 Bedroom Poll - Summary of Findings2012"},{"key":"B19","first-page":"1077","article-title":"The sleep heart health study: design, rationale, and methods","volume":"20","author":"Quan","year":"1997","journal-title":"Sleep"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"759","DOI":"10.1093\/sleep\/21.7.759","article-title":"Methods for obtaining and analyzing unattended polysomnography data for a multicenter study. Sleep heart health research group","volume":"21","author":"Redline","year":"1998","journal-title":"Sleep"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1151","DOI":"10.5665\/sleep.5774","article-title":"Scaling up scientific discovery in sleep medicine: the national sleep research resource","volume":"39","author":"Dean","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sleep"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1351","DOI":"10.1093\/jamia\/ocy064","article-title":"The national sleep research resource: towards a sleep data commons","volume":"25","author":"Zhang","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Am Med Inform Assoc JAMIA"},{"key":"B23","volume-title":"A Manual of Standardized Terminology, Techniques and Scoring System for Sleep Stages of Human Subjects","author":"Rechtschaffen","year":"1968"},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"749","DOI":"10.1093\/sleep\/21.7.749","article-title":"Reliability of scoring respiratory disturbance indices and sleep staging","volume":"21","author":"Whitney","year":"1998","journal-title":"Sleep"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.1093\/sleep\/2.3.319","article-title":"The REM-NREM sleep cycle: renewal process or periodically driven process?","volume":"2","author":"Schulz","year":"1980","journal-title":"Sleep"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"473","DOI":"10.1097\/00005650-199206000-00002","article-title":"The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). I. Conceptual framework and item selection","volume":"30","author":"Ware","year":"1992","journal-title":"Med Care"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"540","DOI":"10.1093\/sleep\/14.6.540","article-title":"A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth sleepiness scale","volume":"14","author":"Johns","year":"1991","journal-title":"Sleep"},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"63","DOI":"10.1007\/s11920-017-0816-4","article-title":"Effects of Antidepressants on Sleep","volume":"19","author":"Wichniak","year":"2017","journal-title":"Curr Psychiatry Rep"},{"key":"B29","first-page":"31S","article-title":"Effects of benzodiazepines on sleep and wakefulness","volume-title":"Br J Clin Pharmacol","author":"Roth","year":"1981"},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"399","DOI":"10.1080\/00273171.2011.568786","article-title":"An introduction to propensity score methods for reducing the effects of confounding in observational studies","volume":"46","author":"Austin","year":"2011","journal-title":"Multivar Behav Res"},{"key":"B31","unstructured":"Propensity scores: a practical introduction using R6888 OlmosA GovindasamyP J MultiDisc Eval.112015"},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"822","DOI":"10.2214\/AJR.17.19499","article-title":"Propensity score matching as a substitute for randomized controlled trials on acute kidney injury after contrast media administration: a systematic review","volume":"211","author":"Dekkers","year":"2018","journal-title":"Am J Roentgenol"},{"key":"B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e8140672","DOI":"10.1155\/2017\/8140672","article-title":"\u201cAre we in sync with each other?\u201d Exploring the effects of cosleeping on heterosexual couples' sleep using simultaneous polysomnography: a pilot study","volume":"2017","author":"Drews","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sleep Disord"},{"key":"B34","unstructured":"Vienna, AustriaR Foundation for Statistical ComputingR: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing2019"},{"key":"B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"23167","DOI":"10.18637\/jss.v042.i08","article-title":"MatchIt: nonparametric preprocessing for parametric causal inference","volume":"42","author":"Ho","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Stat Softw"},{"key":"B36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"523","DOI":"10.5664\/jcsm.7036","article-title":"Reference data for polysomnography-measured and subjective sleep in healthy adults","volume":"14","author":"Hertenstein","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Clin Sleep Med JCSM Off Publ Am Acad Sleep Med"},{"key":"B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"74","DOI":"10.1038\/s41386-019-0411-y","article-title":"Sleep, insomnia, and depression","volume":"45","author":"Riemann","year":"2020","journal-title":"Neuropsychopharmacology"},{"key":"B38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e12841","DOI":"10.1111\/jsr.12841","article-title":"The key role of insomnia and sleep loss in the dysregulation of multiple systems involved in mood disorders: a proposed model","volume":"28","author":"Palagini","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Sleep Res"},{"key":"B39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nlm.2012.10.006","article-title":"The role of REM sleep in the processing of emotional memories: Evidence from behavior and event-related potentials","volume":"99","author":"Groch","year":"2013","journal-title":"Neurobiol Learn Mem"},{"key":"B40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"395","DOI":"10.1093\/sleep\/27.3.395","article-title":"Consolidation of strictly episodic memories mainly requires rapid eye movement sleep","volume":"27","author":"Rauchs","year":"2004","journal-title":"Sleep"},{"key":"B41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.1016\/0732-118X(95)00023-A","article-title":"REM sleep: a social bonding mechanism","volume":"14","author":"McNamara","year":"1996","journal-title":"New Ideas Psychol"},{"key":"B42","unstructured":"RevonsuoA TuominenJ ValliK The Avatars in the Machine: Dreaming as a Simulation of Social Reality2015"},{"key":"B43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1867","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2017.01867","article-title":"Emerging directions in emotional episodic memory","volume":"8","author":"Dolcos","year":"2017","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"B44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1017\/S0140525X17000012","article-title":"Why do we remember? The communicative function of episodic memory","volume":"41","author":"Mahr","year":"2018","journal-title":"Behav Brain Sci"},{"key":"B45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.3389\/fnana.2017.00105","article-title":"Sociality affects REM sleep episode duration under controlled laboratory conditions in the rock hyrax, Procavia capensis","volume":"11","author":"Gravett","year":"2017","journal-title":"Front Neuroanat"},{"key":"B46","first-page":"195","article-title":"A two process model of sleep regulation","volume":"1","author":"Borb\u00e9ly","year":"1982","journal-title":"Hum Neurobiol"},{"key":"B47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"948","DOI":"10.1001\/archpsyc.1988.01800340076012","article-title":"Social zeitgebers and biological rhythms. A unified approach to understanding the etiology of depression","volume":"45","author":"Ehlers","year":"1988","journal-title":"Arch Gen Psychiatry"},{"key":"B48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"401","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychores.2013.01.005","article-title":"Testing bidirectional relationships between marital quality and sleep disturbances: a 4-year follow-up study in a Korean cohort","volume":"74","author":"Yang","year":"2013","journal-title":"J Psychosom Res"},{"key":"B49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.5664\/jcsm.9072","article-title":"Sex differences in deterioration of sleep properties associated with aging: a 12-year longitudinal cohort study","volume-title":"J Clin Sleep Med JCSM Off Publ Am Acad Sleep Med","author":"Kim","year":"2021"},{"key":"B50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"831","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph13080831","article-title":"Co-morbidity, mortality, quality of life and the healthcare\/welfare\/social costs of disordered sleep: a rapid review","volume":"13","author":"Garbarino","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychiatry"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2021.641102\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,26]],"date-time":"2022-12-26T20:50:31Z","timestamp":1672087831000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2021.641102\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,10]]},"references-count":50,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyt.2021.641102"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2021.641102","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-0640"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-0640","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,10]]},"article-number":"641102"}}