Comedian Kumail Nanjiani and writer-producer Emily V. Gordon (the couple known for the movie The Big Sick) recently shared on a podcast that they make a point of going to bed at the same time every night, regardless of how out of sync their schedules may be.

It all started several years ago, when Gordon had a job that required her to be up and out the door earlier than Nanjiani. The two made a pact to always go to sleep at the same time. Over the years, as their schedules shifted and Nanjiani found himself waking up earlier and earlier for work, the pair stuck with it even if that meant calling it a day at 8 p.m. Going to bed at the same time helped the couple stay connected, especially when their schedules pulled them apart. Its a good system; it works, Nanjiani said.

But many couples who struggle with competing sleep habits havent figured out how to deal. Thanks to our circadian rhythms, or the way our bodies naturally govern our sleep-wake cycle, some of us are night owls while others are morning birds. Or some people snore, struggle with insomnia, sleep walk and talk, or simply have work schedules that dont align which means a lot of us arent getting sufficient sleep on a regular basis.

And when we skimp out on sleep, everything seems to fall apart.

If you dont sleep enough, a whole bunch of things can go wrong either acutely, where youre going to be sleepy, irritable and cranky, and your cognitive abilities are going to degrade, Meir Kryger , a Yale Medicine sleep expert, told HuffPost. In the long term, a lack of sleep can cause major issues with your heart, metabolism and immune system.

Rather than blame your partner for your sleep deprivation, sleep experts suggest working through it together. Heres how:

Own the fact that you have different sleep needs