Sleepless nights may worsen your fights

Going through a bad phase in your relationship? Sleepless nights could be the culprit.

Research shows that a good night’s sleep is very important for couples to maintain a healthy relationship, because sleep energises your body and de-stresses the mind by keeping you calm. Thus, not getting enough sleep can result in irritability and stress, leading to ugly spats or worsening of an existing fight.

“Even a small argument seems like a big one for the person who has slept less. When one is sleep-deprived, the ability to control emotions goes down,” says psychiatrist Dr Avdesh Sharma, explaining that less sleep leads to tiredness which, in turn, results in dissatisfaction among the partners. “If one of the partners couldn’t get enough sleep the previous night, then he/she may not be able to deliver the intended emotion which can turn out to be disapproving by the other,” says Dr Avdesh.

Psychologist Pulkit Sharma feels that a kind of blame game starts due to irritation resulting out of a sleepless night. “Thus, the irritated one may start blaming the other for their anger and stress which can worsen the fight between the two. People fail to stay energetic due to lack of sleep which restricts their emotional availability for their partner,” explains Pulkit. “Naturally, chronic insomniacs — people who have a sleep disorder in which there is an inability to fall asleep — are likely to end up in a bad relationship if this problem persists. So, it’s of utmost importance to get the reason behind your sleeplessness detected for the sake of healthier relationship,” he adds.