Maggie Ryan
·4 min read
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We’d introduce you to Alex and Jon, but you probably already know them from your FYP. The couple’s relationship-themed TikToks have shot them to social media stardom, gaining 2 million TikTok followers who love them for their spoofs on couple arguments, videos about how hard it is to go out when you hit your 30s (“I can’t be convinced”), and just how funny — and honest — they are about married life. And when it comes time to log off for the day, the couple say they have just as much trouble as anyone when it comes to shutting down the screens and getting some shut-eye.
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“It’s really difficult,” Alex tells SheKnows. She tries to read before bed and places her phone across the room, which helps in two ways: it discourages her from scrolling before bed and, when the alarm goes off in the morning, forces her out of bed and across the room to turn it off.
“Which helps me,” Jon adds, “because when Alex had her phone on her nightstand, she would just blow through all her alarms, and I would wake up to every single one. I’d be like, ‘hey are you gonna get up? Are you gonna get up?’ And she just snoozes, snoozes, snoozes.”
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It’s proof that getting good sleep as a couple truly comes down to teamwork, especially because no two partners have the exact same sleep tendencies or routines. Case in point? “Alex doesn’t have any [sleep] problems,” Jon says. “I’m the problem.”
Jon says he’s always been a light sleeper, and it doesn’t help that, according to him, “Alex’s snoring is a problem.”
That’s a disputed claim, for the record. “I think he’s lying!” Alex says. “I’m asleep, so I don’t know if I snore.”
What isn’t up for debate is the fact that Alex definitely drifts off more quickly. “I’ll fall asleep in seconds,” she says. And if you’ve ever had a partner who drifts off way faster than you, you know the frustration that can create.
“The arguments generally would stem the next day,” Alex explains. “If Jon doesn’t get a good night of sleep and I do, he’ll be like, ‘The dog was up, you were snoring, it was so hot.’ There’s all these different variables that go into Jon getting a good night’s sleep and so if he doesn’t, it’s usually followed by, the next day, arguments between us.”
Of course, they also work together, meaning they’re “together 24/7,” Jon says. If he wants to avoid being irritable with his wife (and on camera), “I need to be in a good mood, I need a full night’s sleep.”
He’s tried multiple strategies, but his new go-to is Unisom, a sleep supplement the couple is partnering with and promoting when it comes to couple sleep issues. “I just take it once in a while, as needed,” he explains, “probably once or twice a week at the most, 30 minutes before I go to bed.” The supplement is billed as non-habit-forming, which also helps him feel good about using it. “I never want to take something where I feel like I need it every night.”
Alex is also a fan of using it when they’re traveling and dealing with jet lag, and both say they’re impressed by the lack of grogginess they feel in the morning. “I’ll usually wake up earlier than Jon to go to the gym and I’m always still shocked that he’ll still wake up to my alarm. He gets a good night of sleep but I’m like, wow, he’s still up at 5.”
The couple also uses white noise (“I definitely need a fan on,” Jon says), keeps the temperature cool in their room, and avoids having a late dinner. “Whenever I eat super late, I’m like digesting while I’m trying to sleep,” Alex explains. “Then I get heartburn and then I’m just sweating.”
Speaking of hot nights, Alex and Jon aren’t above building a pillow wall to keep them from sweating on each other when it’s warm out. “He’ll create a pillow divide between us,” Alex explains. “My fort,” according to Jon.
Whether it’s supplements, white noise, or forcing yourself to leave your phone across the room, couple sleep solutions are all about finding what works, they say. “I don’t think that there’s any right or wrong way,” Alex says. “Whatever it takes to get a good night of sleep, whatever works for you, do that.”
If you’re on the hunt for more sleep solutions, check out our favorites:
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