If you’ve ever shared a bed in the UK, you know what it’s like to wake up cold and with a sense of betrayal in the middle of the night.

In the UK, couples are expected to cohabit under one giant, unified sheet of fabric. Sounds like a great idea, perfect for couples. But it’s not. It’s the worst idea ever. You wake up in the middle of the night, realising that your partner has stolen the duvet by rolling themselves up into it, and if you try to take your part of the duvet back, you’re met with angry grunts. As if you had done something wrong. And even if they don’t steal it, both of you are struggling with body temperature. One person is constantly cold; one person is sweating.

The UK method requires constant negotiation. As if a relationship doesn’t already have enough of that. Scandinavians, however, are absolute bedtime genius.

In the Scandi lands, they looked at the one-duvet system and said: “Nej.” Instead, a standard Scandinavian double bed has two separate single duvets. Side by side. If you like your side of the bed to feel like a crisp Arctic tundra, you get a lightweight duvet. If your partner prefers the temperature of a pizza oven, they get the heavy-duty down. You can toss, turn, and star-fish to your heart’s content without ripping the covers off your significant other.

Since deciding to go down the Scandinavian duvet route, my sleep is better, my relationship stronger – and if there are disagreements and negotiations, they’re not about duvets. Plenty of other things to argue about.

Gabi Froden

https://tp.media/click?shmarker=510460&promo_id=2060&source_type=banner&type=click&campaign_id=84&trs=289294

Read the feature on issuu