"Sleep Divorce" Is Carson Daly's Key to Marriage Success

Like a growing number of modern couples, Carson Daly and his wife have embraced separate bedrooms, a sleeping arrangement sometimes referred to as a “sleep divorce.”

The television personality opened up about the benefits of sleeping apart during a recent Today show segment, calling sleep divorce the “best thing” that ever happened to his marriage.

“We both, admittedly, slept better apart,” Daly said, explaining that he and his wife, Siri Daly, started sleeping in different bedrooms a few years ago when she was pregnant with the couple’s fourth child. Apparently the pregnancy made it difficult for either of them to get a good night’s sleep, and Daly’s sleep apnea — a condition that can cause loud snoring — obviously didn’t help.

“We woke up and we just shook hands like, ‘I love you, but it’s time to sleep divorce. It’ll be the best thing for all of us,’” Daly previously told People of the couple’s decision to part ways before bedtime.

While the concept of married partners sleeping in separate bedrooms may still raise eyebrows among some traditionalists committed to the sweaty, sleepless sanctity of a shared marriage bed, Carson Daly and his wife are far from the only couple reaping the benefits of sleep divorce. According to a 2017 survey from the National Sleep Foundation, an estimated one in four married couples sleep separately, be it in separate beds or separate rooms altogether. Moreover, a number of sleep and relationship experts alike endorse the idea.

“Traditionally, we assumed that couples who slept apart were either having relationship issues or had lost the desire to be intimate,” relationship expert Susan Winter previously told InsideHook. “Today, that’s not the case. We now see couples making lifestyle choices that work for them and their disposition.” According to Winter, sleep divorce can give partners the space they need to thrive, both as individuals and within their relationship.

“We live in stressful times with continual information overload. Having your own retreat space means you can reboot,” she added. “Night time is when we unwind, collect our thoughts, and chill. This is an act of self care that benefits both parties in the relationship.”