Two in a Bed: The Social System of Couple Bed Sharing

A fascinating look at the social experience of sharing a bed with another person.

Millions of adults sleep with another adult, but what does it mean to share a bed with someone else, and how does it affect a couple’s relationship? What happens when one partner snores? Steals the sheets? Prefers to sleep in the nude? To address these and other questions,Paul C. Rosenblatt asked couples to describe the struggles, challenges, and achievements of their bed-sharing experiences. Two in a Bed includes interviews with more than forty bed-sharing couples as they candidly discuss winding down and waking up, cold feet and tucked sheets, who sleeps near the door and who gets pushed to the edge, snoring, spooning, sleep talking, sleep walking, and the myriad other behaviors we negotiate in falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up each morning beside a partner. In addition to exploring the routines and realities of sharing a bed with another person, these interviews reveal important information about sleep, relationships, and American society. Stressing the intricacy and importance of a previously unremarked activity, Rosenblatt’s Two in a Bed shows that sleep should no longer be viewed solely as an individual phenomenon.

“Rosentblatt’s contention that sleep is a window into a couple’s life may … prove useful for therapists.” — CHOICE

“Two in a Bed is a groundbreaking book in the field of sleep and relationships. While a plethora of writing exists about adults sleeping as an individual phenomenon, until now there was no book about sharing a bed, even though it’s a part of millions of couples’ lives.” — RxPG

“Rosenblatt’s book is a sociological study of this overlooked phenomenon, and he reveals all the factors involved in bed sharing, ‘couple interaction,’ and the effects of a shared sleeping environment … [It] reassuringly asserts the age-old maxims it never hurts to hear: the keys to a good relationship are intimacy, communication and plenty of compromise.” — Publishers Weekly

“…quite accessible to general readers, and quite a lot of fun.” — Shelf Awareness

“This is the most fascinating and engaging book in the family arena that I have read in many years. It fills a significant and important gap in the social science literature. Every interview is informative and some are even hilarious.” — David M. Klein, coeditor of Sourcebook of Family Theory and Research