I have an announcement so earth-shaking that I will, just for today, suspend all scientific citations. I am here to liberate you from a great deal of suffering.

I hereby give you permission to go to bed angry.

Here are ten perfectly good reasons:

1. You don’t know anyone who ever resolved an argument by staying up into the wee hours to do so.

2. You do know people who have tried, but none of them can remember what happened unless there was a police report or reality video.

3. Sleep deprivation makes people less rational, less emotionally tolerant, and less coherent.

4. People who go to bed angry do not typically wake up angry, unless they tend to wake up angry anyway.

5. Oh what a difference a day makes.

6. Sleep on it. You’ll have better ideas tomorrow. Sleep is the special place where you turn experience into wisdom (via REM sleep).

7. If you and your sweetheart have an agreement that it is okay to go to bed angry, no one needs to feel rejected, neglected, or insulted when you do just that.

8. People with borderline personality disorder are so disturbed by anything that smacks of rejection, that it was one of their lovers that came up with the rule (don’t go to bed angry) because he or she was afraid of being murdered in their sleep. If you are that person, promise you’ll return if you like, but go to an undisclosed hotel alone tonight and sleep, sleep, sleep.

9. You think you have a conflict now? Wait ’till you lose your job because of staying up arguing. Financial issues are the number one source of relationship-threatening conflict.

10. Sleep is a wonderful gift, and charity starts at home.

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