Sleep Divorce

It's time to get back into bed together

Your snoring can raise the roof. And this annoys your family and makes you feel embarrassed. You've tried nose strips, mouth guards, and adjusting how you sleep...but nothing helps. It's now become so bad that it drove your bed partner to sleep on the couch. It's not your fault. We're here to help. Let's get you back in the same bed as your partner!

What is a sleep divorce?

A sleep divorce is when one person leaves the shared bed to get uninterrupted sleep elsewhere. Usually the living room couch. The most common reason for a partner to abandon their bed is – yep, you guessed it – snoring.

A Better Sleep Council survey revealed 85% of Americans struggle with sleep, with 32% attributing it to snoring.1 Remedies ranged from sleeping apart, the snorer retreating to the sofa, solitary napping, having opposite sleep schedules, to using earplugs or building a wall of pillows to drown out the clamor.

But this is no laughing matter. Snoring is a sure sign of a nighttime breathing issue, and possibly even obstructive sleep apnea.

Jessica had options to resolved her sleep divorce

After trying to sleep like a standing horse, affixing strips to her nose at night, and wearing mouth guards not designed to address the cause of her snoring, Jessica did her research. 

She turned to ADVENT for help. “They really took care of everything…I knew every step of the way what the next step was," she says. A conversation with Dr. Kandula, ADVENT’s co-founder and ENT doctor, opened her eyes to the fact that most people breathe through their noses, not their mouths. This revelation stunned Jessica, who had been a mouth-breather all her life.

Dr. Kandula suggested a simple 20-minute in-office treatment that would enable Jessica to breathe through her nose. "I was up and going within 24 hours... it was the best decision I had made," Jessica shares. Three years post-procedure, she breathes through her nose effortlessly, has more energy, and her husband is back sleeping in their bed. "Life is good,” she affirms.

How it works

3 steps to end your sleep divorce:

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    1: Get Your Breathing Triangle Evaluation

    First, we listen. At your new patient appointment, you’ll discuss your symptoms and goals with a Sleep & Sinus Specialist. You’ll also get a thorough Breathing Triangle Evaluation to help identify any underlying issues.

  2. Icon for Get your breathing triangle healthy

    2: Uncover the Root Cause

    Depending on your symptoms you may get an in-office CT scan or home sleep study to better understand the source of your snoring.

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    3:Treat Your Snoring with Simple Solutions

    We offer several simple in-office options to ensure you have a healthy Breathing Triangle and to address your snoring. Depending on your diagnosis, you may be a candidate for: Balloon Sinuplasty, Turbinate Reduction, Nasal Cryotherapy, Snoreplasty, Uvulectomy or Oral Appliance Therapy

Sleep divorce FAQs

Everything you need to know about:
Sleep Divorce
What is sleep divorce?

A sleep divorce means one person leaves the shared bed to sleep elsewhere. Snoring is the No. 1 cause of a sleep divorce, but other bothersome nighttime conditions like sleep apnea, may also cause the unafflicted partner to flee.

What leads to a sleep divorce?

For starters, sleep deprivation or fragmented sleep that can happen to both people as a result of snoring, sleep apnea, or other nighttime intrusions keeps both partners on edge, exhausted, and possibly suffering from the ill effects of too-little sleep. Pair this with anxiety about bedtime approaching, dependence on alcohol to help you fall asleep (this backfires, by the way, by impacting sleep quality2), relying on sleep aids or nasal sprays, and blocking the noise with ear plugs or white noise, and you could be headed for a sleep divorce.

What treatments are available for sleep apnea and snoring?

“[Sinus surgery] is not our first option or something that we have to do. There are other less invasive options we can start with first."

"A uvulectomy is a procedure that can be done in the office or in the operating room. The uvula, which is a combination of soft tissue and muscle, hangs down from the middle of the soft palate and can partially obstruct the airway at night, contributing to sleep apnea or contributing to snoring."

Pratik Patel, MD

Otolaryngology — Board-Certified ENT

"Snoreplasty adds in a hardening agent to stiffen the soft palate and uvula to prevent rattling of those structures in the back of the throat. That this is not our first option or something that we have to do. There are other less invasive options we can start with first. We do this if other options are not working for treatment for snoring. We like to be sure that the nose is open and then trial of OAT for treatment. If patients are continuing to struggle with using these, we may consider removing part of the uvula to open up the airway more and reduce rattling or movement."

Sleep Divorce
Are you in a sleep divorce? Do you not know?

The 5 Signs You’re Heading for a Sleep Divorce

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Sleep Divorce

Real patient reviews:

Harry
5 star rating iconExpand Content Icon
I am so glad that my wife handed me the number to call. I can breathe from my nose for the first time in 25 years and the staff is amazing!
Tracy
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I had been told by two doctors that my “anatomy” was a problem and that I’d always have sleep apnea and need a CPAP. I just got back from my CT scan and appointment at the Northbrook location. All of the staff who helped me were great and the doctor was beyond helpful. He advised I have to options to improve my breathing and sleep and took time to walk me through both while giving me an anatomy visual aid as well as showing me my own CT.

References

  1. Survey: American couples have trouble in bed. The Better Sleep Council. 2017 April 9. Accessed 2023 June. https://bettersleep.org/research/survey-american-couples-have-trouble-in-bed/
  2. Park SY, Oh MK, Lee BS, Kim HG, Lee WJ, Lee JH, Lim JT, Kim JY. The Effects of Alcohol on Quality of Sleep. Korean J Fam Med. 2015 Nov;36(6):294-9. doi: 10.4082/kjfm.2015.36.6.294. Epub 2015 Nov 20. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4666864/
The Breathing Triangle logo over a woman's face to show the key to breathing well is in your nose and throat

Don't Ignore Your Sleep Divorce

Sleep Divorce: 1 in 4 couples are in a sleep divorce
OSA Undiagnosed: 80% OSA undiagnosed
US Snorers: 50% of US adults snore
92% of ADVENT patients left a 4- or 5-star review on Google