Couples not sleeping together, teddy bears instead?

In the US, couples are sleeping in separate rooms. But apparently it's not to do with relationships falling apart, but about keeping them together. Three-quarters of Americans say they often wake up during the night or snore, and lack of sleep makes one or both partners grumpy.

It's becoming less shameful to have separate bedrooms, report a number of news sites, including for example ABC News who quote: "Builders say buyers often ask for separate his-and-her bedrooms. In fact, in a National Association of Home Builders survey, builders predicted 60 percent of custom homes would be built with two master bedrooms by 2015.

"He works late...She e-mails. … Whatever the reason, people really just want their privacy and their alone time," said Carol Wall, president of Mitchell Wall Architects. "It's just a new lifestyle choice." "

They won't be called Master suites anymore (too masculine) but rather flex suites or owners' suites.

However, in a survey commissioned by Travelodge in the UK, they found that nearly three in five people felt lonely sleeping without their partner, while 16% found it difficult to get to sleep and 9% felt scared. Eight per cent of women said they spray their pillow or nightclothes with their partner's aftershave when away from home on their own. But only 3% of men resorted to using their partner's perfume to offset loneliness.

Much more interesting though was the discovery that more men than women take teddy bears to bed when sleeping alone. Some 20% of men admitted to cuddling a teddy, compared to 15% of women, reports Sky News.