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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

My husband simply won’t come to bed!

44 replies

LaraF89 · 03/09/2026 02:36

Basically it’s in the title, he won’t come to bed at reasonable time like every other human. He works standard office hours, 6 days a week so no shift work. He is often awake until 1/2am watching tv, films, on his phone, goodness knows what else. I’m often exhausted from working full time & in full blown menopause since I was 36 so often in bed between 10pm-11pm sometimes earlier. I struggle with sleep massively due to menopause he knows this. Every night he disturbs me coming to bed, I hear him locking everything up, flushing toilet, banging around, frequently he will leave our kitchen window open for our cats to come in & out of so is then calling out of it to get them to come in. He sometimes falls asleep on the sofa leaving everything open for someone to easily break in putting me & my children at risk. I’ve spoken to him but he does nothing to change! AIBU that he should come to bed earlier?!

OP posts:
superchick · 03/09/2026 05:38

As everyone else has said, he is being inconsiderate by banging around and leaving things unlocked but if he doesn't want to go to sleep until late that's up to him.

As someone who has been single for 10 years I cant imagine going to bed without taking a minute to check the doors and windows are locked and secured so I don't see why you can't do that too. If he's waking you up when he comes to bed and its a problem then he needs to be more careful or sleep elsewhere. But having conflicting sleep schedules is one of the things couples have to navigate - he can't just go to bed 5 hours earlier every night, that won't work.

PurplebudsWhitebuds · 03/09/2026 05:37

If you have spoken to him about how noisy he is and about how it impacts you, and about the safety issue, and he hasn't done anything to be more considerate then it sounds as though not only that he doesn't care but also that it is deliberate.

Comeonbabylightmyaga · 03/09/2026 05:28

I’m a light sleeper and easily disturbed. I go to bed at 9/10. Dh does not. We have separate rooms (he snores) but I still hear him to I wear ear plugs.
I wouldn’t dream of asking telling him when to go to bed.

Autumnallaround · 03/09/2026 05:08

@HoppingPavlova have you considered vaginal oestrogen? It will stop all your night time weeing.

Op my DH stays up late too, I often get up for my day an hour or two after he comes to bed!

Loop earplugs are a saviour.

Absolutelynot2 · 03/09/2026 05:00

WheresThatCatGoneNow · 03/09/2026 04:31

Why should he come to bed just because you want him to?

Not everyone feels like sleeping at the same time as you do.

Leave the poor man alone and stop badgering him.

I'm glad he cares about making sure the cats are in.

That's what would really matter to me.

Edited

Why didn't you comment on him banging around, shouting for the cats at 3am and leaving everything unlocked when he conks out of the sofa?

Chickadee26 · 03/09/2026 04:52

LittleMissFooled · 03/09/2026 02:59

Could you lock-up before you go to bed, so then it doesn’t matter if he falls asleep on the sofa?

That's what I'd do, otherwise I wouldn't feel safe sleeping.

WheresThatCatGoneNow · 03/09/2026 04:31

Why should he come to bed just because you want him to?

Not everyone feels like sleeping at the same time as you do.

Leave the poor man alone and stop badgering him.

I'm glad he cares about making sure the cats are in.

That's what would really matter to me.

PinkyFlamingo · 03/09/2026 04:14

You can't tell a grown adult when to go to bed. You just can't.

Absolutelynot2 · 03/09/2026 03:54

UpDownAllAround1 · 03/09/2026 03:47

Going to suggest this is more about why he doesn’t want to spend time with you in bed

Yep. Although I would naturally stay up till midnight most nights, I like to cuddle in to my husband to sleep at least some of the time and though we can go to bed at other times to have sex it's certainly easier if we're both in bed together a couple of nights a week at least.

He's being noisy and inconsiderate and he doesn't want to go to bed with OP at all, neither of which sounds ideal.

UpDownAllAround1 · 03/09/2026 03:47

Going to suggest this is more about why he doesn’t want to spend time with you in bed

Steeleydan · 03/09/2026 03:47

Bet your neighbours love him shouting cats in at 3am

Yupstillhere · 03/09/2026 03:41

Most people replying to this thread are night owls as you posted it late so he'll have fair bit of sympathy. I couldn't go to bed that early, you're clearly have very different sleep needs.
Could you get a cat flap for the cats or get them in before you go to bed? He's being unreasonable if he is banging about and not considering security. Not sure what else you can do except talk to him. If he won't listen I would presume he doesn't really care. Hopefully not the case

21stNightOfSeptember · 03/09/2026 03:26

I’m a night owl. Hence being awake at almost 3:30.

I’m considerate of my family who are all in bed, so TV is on very low volume, all main lights switched off, just a lamp. I creep not to wake anyone. No banging about. I certainly wouldn’t shout for the pets.

But no one will tell me when to go to bed. I am an adult.

If he is genuinely inconsiderate to the rest of you sleeping I would either tell him to A) always sleep downstairs or B) leave.

Absolutelynot2 · 03/09/2026 03:19

Isittimeformynapyet · 03/09/2026 03:15

I'm afraid you can't tell an adult when to go to bed. You can ask him not to disturb you and lock up earlier like pp said, but to say anything like "It's late. Come to bed now" to a fellow grown up would be absurd.

Nonsense. I am a natural night owl, my husband often comes out and says "are you coming to bed love?" Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. There's no problem of any kind with asking. Sometimes night owls don't realise how late it is getting and appreciate a nudge.

So she definitely can ask him, no problem there. But she wants not to have to get up and have her sleep disturbed.

Best if he sleeps elsewhere.

HoppingPavlova · 03/09/2026 03:18

Lock up yourself before going to bed. If someone, including DH told me I had to go to bed at 10.30/11 I’d laugh at them. Sometimes I’m in bed 9pm, sometimes 2am, depends on what I’m doing and if I feel tired or not. I find a ‘group bedtime’ to be really odd.

You’d hate me with the loo as well. I get up 2-3 times during night to use loo. Happy not to flush but DH doesn’t like to use loo and find wee in it so I flush. Others in household use loo of a night as well (no one seems to sleep through….), so our house would be a form of torture for you😆.

Isittimeformynapyet · 03/09/2026 03:15

I'm afraid you can't tell an adult when to go to bed. You can ask him not to disturb you and lock up earlier like pp said, but to say anything like "It's late. Come to bed now" to a fellow grown up would be absurd.

Absolutelynot2 · 03/09/2026 03:09

He'll have to sleep elsewhere, do you have another bedroom? Fold down couch.

If he's a natural night owl there's nothing much he can do about that, but he definitely doesn't have to bang around to wake you late at night.

Nimblethimble · 03/09/2026 03:06

Can you wear earplugs?

Also suggestions for him: he doesn't flush the loo at night, windows/doors are shut and cats are brought in before you go up to bed.

I don't think it's realistic for him to come to bed earlier (we are the opposite in our house, DH asleep by 11pm and me happily awake reading and MNetting at 3am!).

But he can be more considerate.

LittleMissFooled · 03/09/2026 02:59

Could you lock-up before you go to bed, so then it doesn’t matter if he falls asleep on the sofa?

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