'Abstinence' Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?

'Victorian' Sleeping Arrangements.

By Alison Hill, published Mar 20, 2007
Published Content: 12  Total Views: 3,674  Favorited By: 4 CPs
Rating: 3.5 of 5
A recent article in the New York Times claims that more and more people in the U.S. are ordering separate master bedroom suites in their new homes. However it's not because they're sexual prudes, apparently it has more to do with getting a good night's sleep!
I guess the Victorians used that excuse as well!

According to the article, a February survey by the National Association of Home Builders, predicts that by 2015 more than 60 percent of custom houses will have 'dual master bedrooms'. It goes on to say that this new (or resurrected) phenomenon of separate sleeping quarters applies to all income brackets and not just the wealthy. The middle-class just has to make do with the spare room or the couch, rather than having 'his' and 'hers' master bedrooms! From snoring, restlessness to kids crying in the night - the excuses abound.
Now, interestingly enough, this article was written on my fifteenth wedding anniversary and despite the fact that my husband snores incessantly that would not encourage me to have my own permanent bedroom. It may require a night or two on the couch, but I usually end up back in bed before the sun rises - we got married because we enjoy each other's company and the bedroom is our sanctuary. I also watch many horror movies and they seem to pop into my head when I'm alone in the dark!

A suggestion to those who complain about their partners' annoying nocturnal activities would be to invest in a larger bed or wear earplugs! Or maybe this is a clear sign that they want their own space for reasons other than snoring and may as well just live entirely alone.

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Showing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
 
 
Several people I knew in Germany did this--had seperate bedrooms. I found it odd at first and then it made a bit of sense. I personally would not want a seperate bedroom. An office of my own in the home would be fine enough. I do tend to have insomnia but when I have been in relationships in the past I just go sleep on the couch if I am having a rstless night. Great article

Posted on 08/01/2007 at 6:08:00 PM

 
Separate bedrooms might be an aid to people whose spouse snores or engages in any other annoying habit, but the primary reason for separate bedrooms is that American wives simply don't want sex anymore with their husbands, and eventually, the husband gets used to it and goes along. Many husbands enjoy abstinence as much as their wives. My wife and I are sexually attracted to each other, but we both chose abstinence immediately after marriage for a number of reasons, the most important being that to quote the pun, abstinence DOES make the heart grow fonder. That's simply because you have a stronger desire for something that you can't have than something you have done over and over and over, until it gets to a point of being downright annoying and embarrassing to pretend that the bloom is off the rose. There are a lot of smart women who just don't want to go down the same road that all of their married friends have gone down - boredom, disappointment, irritation, being taking for gra

Posted on 05/19/2007 at 10:05:00 AM

 
Alison Hill has done it again. For a moment or two, I thought I was reading an article out of "The New York Times". Well-knowing that Alison was writing about an article that was published in "The New York Times", I still stand by what I said. As a writer myself, I really enjoyed the article. It was contemporary, educational, informative, and well-written. Thank you, Alison. Keep up the good work. Throw away the Lunesta. Take one leap for joy in your blessed talent as a journalist and call me in the morning.

Posted on 03/23/2007 at 1:03:00 PM

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