Hi friend, I want to talk about something most doctors won't. If you go to bed angry at the person lying next to you — your sleep suffers measurably worse than if you go to bed alone. A landmark 2018 study out of Ohio State followed 43 married couples for a week. On nights when they'd had unresolved conflict before bed, both partners showed 40% higher inflammatory markers the next morning, 30% shorter REM sleep, and elevated cortisol for the following 48 hours. Sleeping next to unresolved anger poisons your body chemistry. This isn't about "communicating better" or "not going to bed angry" (which is often unrealistic — some things can't be resolved in one night). It's about a small practice I give every couple I treat. Before bed, if you're angry at your partner: Turn toward them. Not with a smile. Just physically face them. Say one sentence: "I'm still upset. But I love you. We'll figure it out tomorrow." That's it. You don't have to mean it perfectly. You don't have to feel warm. You just have to say the words. What this does biologically: it separates the conflict from the person. Your nervous system stops filing the human next to me as a threat. The anger stays. The threat signal drops. Both of you will sleep dramatically better. And by morning — often — the anger looks smaller than it did the night before. If you sleep alone tonight, the equivalent practice is: forgive one person, silently, before you close your eyes. Just one. Doesn't have to be forever. Doesn't even have to last through morning. Just tonight. You're not doing it for them. You're doing it for your cortisol. Take care, Dr. Collins | 