Marriage is such a sacred thing; it is the beginning of having a family. I guess it is also the union of two people loving each other’s differences as well as accepting faults and learning to forgive each other. Falling in love is easy but staying in love during marriage is easier said than done. I can bear this out because I am a daughter brought up in a broken marriage.

They say that to build a strong relationship “till death do you part”, the first thing to do is to give intimacy a top priority. Physical contact is a big factor, though of course a long-lasting friendship may matter more in the long run. Most People are losing their intimacy with their partners because they lack communication and sometimes they have to sleep separately in order to get a good night’s sleep. Building a strong relationship is all the harder if you sleep separately.

Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, PhD, relationship therapist reports that the trend of couples sleeping in separate bedrooms has serious side effects to marriages and wellbeing of the individuals in the relationship.

Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil’s book “Make Up Don’t Break Up” is an antidote to the marital trend of sleeping in separate bedrooms. A recent New York Times article reports this troubling marital trend. Reporting statistics from a 2005 survey by the National Sleep Foundation, one in every four American couples sleep in separate bedrooms. “This is a very unhealthy preference, especially when it is followed by the prediction by the National Association of Home Builders survey predicting that 60 percent of custom homes will be outfitted with dual master bedrooms by 2015. People know how to fall in love, but don’t understand the key elements to staying in love and connected. Sleeping together increases physical comfort and frequency of sex.” Dr. Bonnie Weil, known as the #1 Love Expert believes that physical closeness is the glue needed to keep couples together during conflict and rough times.

“Sleeping in separate bedrooms is a symptom of couples giving up on intimacy. Instead, couples need to have open and honest discussions about stress, fear, and bothersome habits,” offers Dr. Weil.

Sleeping separately can be a triggered by disorders such as restless leg syndrome, snoring, or sleep apnea. Other sleep interruptions can arise from one partner’s television habits, late night reading with the light on, or a Blackberry obsession. Maybe one partner is an early riser, and the other one is a night owl. Fussy kids, the flu, common colds, and pets vying for mattress real estate, can add up to a bedroom appearing more like a freeway during rush hour.

“Today’s worries, stress, overdrawn checking accounts, job instability and economic woes make a good night’s sleep a priority. But, separate bedroom might just be the nail in the marital coffin. It is critical that couples bring sizzle back into the relationship to create balance during difficult times,” explains Dr. Weil, author of Make Up Don’t Break Up and accompanying DVD titled Falling in Love and Staying in Love. Both products give specific guidelines to foster emotional and physical intimacy daily.

Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, PhD, an internationally acclaimed couples, children and family therapist, was named by Psychology Today as one of America’s best therapists. New York Magazine recognizes Dr. Bonnie as one of the city’s best therapists. She is a regular contributor as the relationship expert in Ladies Home Journal and was featured in the “Can This Marriage Be Saved” column three consecutive months. Her work has appeared in Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Men’s Health, the New York Magazine. Parenting Magazine and USA Today have used Dr. Bonnie’s expert advice to support features. Numerous other local and national media outlets have interviewed Dr. Bonnie.

Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil is the author of five books with two best seller’s Make Up Don’t Break Up, now out in paperback, and Adultery the Forgivable Sin, which became a made-for television movie. Her recent book, Financial Infidelity: Seven Steps to Conquering the #1 Relationship Wrecker, Penguin Group, is now available in paperback.
Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, holds a PhD in family play therapy which is a technique and treatment she developed which was written up for her thesis and put in a colleagues book. She was also asked by Hunters school of social work to teach family play therapy. A child therapist at Long Beach Mental Health clinic where she worked with children, teens, separate and with parents. She has been written up in NY Post, Daily News, Toronto Sun, USA Today and Ladies Home Journal on children, teens and parents. She has also been featured in Parenting magazine and their website.