Word.ws English Dictionary

sleep divorce

sleep divorce noun: the practice of sleeping in separate beds or bedrooms instead of sharing one bed at night, with the intention of prioritizing sleep.

Noun

sleep divorce (countable and uncountable, plural sleep divorces)

  1. (colloquial) The practice of sleeping in separate beds or bedrooms instead of sharing one bed at night, with the intention of prioritizing sleep.
    • @campolatta @kmhearn be careful Campo or you might have a sleep divorce on your hands....2012 September 28, @ubiquitouswoman, Twitter, archived from the original on 2024-07-212
    • For an increasing number of couples, "sleep divorce" is the clear solution - although it sometimes carries a stigma.2015 June 25, Hallie Jackson, “Snooze-Deprived Couples Rest Easy After 'Sleep Divorce'”, in NBC News, archived from the original on 29 Apr 2024

Examples of sleep divorce in a sentence

  • “Although the term ‘sleep divorce’ seems harsh, it really just means that people are prioritizing sleep and moving into a separate room at night when needed,” said Khosla.2023 July 10, “Over a third of Americans opt for a “sleep divorce””, in American Academy of Sleep Medicine, archived from the original on...
  • Whether a sleep divorce is the right choice boils down to a pair’s sleep preferences—what is often called “sleep hygiene”2024 March 6, Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, “Why Some Couples Are Choosing a ‘Sleep Divorce’”, in Scientific American, archived from the original...
  • Between talk of “sleep divorces” being key to a healthy relationship and boyfriends being embarrassing, it’s been hard to admit that I sleep much better with my partner.2026 April 21, Jacquelyne Germain, “The snuggle is real: what happens when you can’t fall asleep without your partner?”, in The Guardian...

Forms of sleep divorce

pluralsleep divorces

Origin of sleep divorce

Popularized from an article by Mimi L. Golub, published on March 19, 2013.

Questions about sleep divorce

What does sleep divorce mean?
Sleep divorce means the practice of sleeping in separate beds or bedrooms instead of sharing one bed at night, with the intention of prioritizing sleep.
How do you use sleep divorce in a sentence?
“Although the term ‘sleep divorce’ seems harsh, it really just means that people are prioritizing sleep and moving into a separate room at night when needed,” said Khosla.
What part of speech is sleep divorce?
Sleep divorce is a noun.
What is the plural of sleep divorce?
The plural of sleep divorce is sleep divorces.

Words near sleep divorce in the dictionary

  1. sleep deprivation
  2. sleep diaper
  3. sleep diapers
  4. sleep disorder
  5. sleep disorders
  6. sleep divorce
  7. sleep divorces
  8. sleep easy
  9. sleep flower
  10. sleep flowers
  11. sleep funny

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sleep divorce (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “sleep divorce.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sleep_divorce. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.