Leslie Bibb and Sam Rockwell have been together for 17 years—they fell in love in the most Hollywood way possible, first meeting at the iconic Chateau Marmont. Almost two decades later, they’ve been side-by-side on dozens of red carpets and supported each other in joint movie projects (and sharing the screen on the most recent edition of The White Lotus)—but it’s in the bedroom that they’re beginning to establish some space.
But it’s not what you think! Really. Bibb joined Jenna Bush Hager on a televized segment of Today with Jenna Friends, where she discussed this element of her relationship and their sleeping arrangements.
“He’s not a great sleeper—I always say it’s because he’s an only child,” Bibb shared of Rockwell. “He’ll just pull the covers…and the pulling of covers really wakes you up if sleep is something that can be elusive.”
“The other day he did it, and I woke up at 2.30/3a.m., I went to the old iPad and to a store and—we have a king bed—so I bought two extra large twin comforters and duvet covers…it’s a whole Scandi thing! The Scandinavians say no top sheet and individual comforters. It gives you your own agency in bed, and you can snuggle in there in the morning and night…do a visit... but then let’s have some space.”
Science has found multiple benefits in sleeping with your significant other: your brain releases oxytocin (the love and happiness hormone) which helps to lower stress and anxiety, and there’s even science to back up better orgasms. All leading to a deeper, more relaxed sleep. However, there are definite discomforts to sharing a bed—given we all have our own sleep hygiene, needs, and habits, that might not always align with our partner.
And that’s where the Scandinavian method for sleeping comes in, which could help aid better sleep together as a couple. The concept that Bibb purports to be dabbling in has been hailed as a bedfellow for a healthy relationships—but what exactly is it?
Well, it’s widespread across Scandinavia, from Sweden to Norway and Denmark, and quite different to how most couples sleep in North America and Europe. First, you have to reconfigure your bed, dividing it into two separate sections. So, each person has their own single comforter and blankets—and that means you can adjust your own microclimate to your needs, tossing and turning as you wish, throwing the blanket off or snuggling up. Maybe one of you prefers cottons or flannels if you sleep cold, while warmer sleepers might look to linen sheets. In Scandi-land, hot sleepers and cold-sleepers actually can coexist.
It doesn’t mean you have to forgo any bedroom-set aesthetics, either. Make your bed with the two single comforters laid out flat, touching the the middle of the bed, and streamline the look by topping it with a quilt or additional comforter with cover. It seems like Leslie Bibb and Sam Rockwell are onto something great, and set to get their eight hours plus going forth. Perfekt! Sweet dreams, or dröm sött!
