Aha! Finally a headline worthy of the title of linkbait. (Well, okay, there WAS that one about the secret orgy. I have no standards!)

But I’m serious about saving a marriage – or any sort of relationship in which one shares a bed or other sleeping arrangements.

Wonderful Reader weebluebirdie read my post about the backhanded compliments and noted:

Going for the oblique within your post….I’m intrigued by pillow speaker, didn’t know such a thing existed! Sounds more comfortable than trying to sleep with one earphone in. Also avoids the inevitable situation when you go to put your ipod on for a long journey, and realise one of the ear buds has come off and is probably nestling under the duvet… I listen to podcasts to fall asleep as well. I listen to a particular one, because his voice can be pleasantly numbing. In fact, I generally listen to the same few podcasts over and over. There are quite a few of which I never get to the end, but I like that, because it means I’m asleep.

Yes! The pillow speaker is a great little secret. Okay, sure, SOME couples are on the same page. Both like to fall asleep to classical music. Or maybe both like silence. Or whatever. Hooray for you, dear couples! I hope you have a long and happy relationship with many restful nights together.

But some couples are not in that position! Maybe one partner likes to drift off to talk radio; the other prefers a little light jazz. Maybe one finds sports relaxing; the other likes podcasts. Maybe one likes white noise like ocean waves; the other prefers the dulcet tones of Jacke Wilson agonizing over sex geckos in space. Well, of course I made that last one up: BOTH couples would surely enjoy listening to the Jacke Wilson Show. (Subscribe on iTunes!) But everything else is valid.

Maybe one of you wants to participate in our Daily Dubliner (A James Joyce Time To Read-Joyce Christmas Extravaganza) with a little night-time audiobooking. Maybe the other of you thinks that is a horrible idea. Because you, um, prefer Ulysses… Nothing to be embarrassed about. It happens to the best of us.

Here’s the key: one partner likes (or needs) SOMETHING to help them sleep better. The other partner likes (or needs) SOMETHING ELSE or NOTHING AT ALL.

Who wins this battle? Whoever needs it the most. Why is that fair? Sleep is nothing to mess around with, people! I know. I’ve been sleep-deprived for close to twenty years. It has not been fun.

So give a speaker pillow a try. They connect to your phone or other device via the headphone jack. The speaker then slides right under your pillow. When you’re lying down, you can hear the music (or audiobook or Latin lessons or whatever), but your partner can’t.

Best of all, they’re pretty cheap. One of mine only lasted a couple of years. I bought two: one to use, and one to have a spare so I didn’t need to go even a night without it working. Here’s the one I currently use:

Good luck to you! Treat yourself! And save those marriages!