I don’t live with my partner, but when we sleep in the same bed, I doze off almost instantly. When I’m alone in my own bed, I toss and turn throughout the night.

Between talk of “sleep divorces” being key to a healthy relationship and boyfriends being embarrassing, it’s been hard to admit that I sleep much better with my partner.

Is there something wrong with me?

Definitely not, says Dr Wendy Troxel, a sleep expert, clinical psychologist and author of Sharing the Covers: Every Couple’s Guide to Better Sleep: “Struggling to sleep without your partner is not necessarily a sign that you’re unhealthily attached.”

When couples develop bedtime routines, one’s partner becomes a signal for safety and sleep, she says. “If you’re somehow sleep-separated from your partner for a time, that powerful cue for safety is now missing,” Troxel explains.