Cliffhangers, Facers, And Spooners: What Your Sleeping Position Says About Your Relationship

From the “flamingo” position, which has been linked to hypermobility, to sleeping on your left side (which may be the best option), how you sleep matters. 

And according to research conducted at theEdinburgh International Science Festival, how partners (literally) lie together might reveal how they feel about their relationship.

Professor Richard Wiseman asked 1,000 partnered people to describe their ideal sleeping position, their personality, and their relationship satisfaction.

“One of the most important differences involved touching”, he said: couples who stayed in physical contact throughout the night were more likely to say they were in a happy relationship.

Which sleeping positions were most popular? 

Among those Professor Wiseman surveyed, the most popular couple’s sleeping positions were: 

• Sleeping back-to-back (sometimes called the “cliffhanger” position, especially if you’re far apart) – 42% 
• Sleeping facing in the same direction (“spooning”) – 31%
• Facing one another  – 4%. 

Then, there was the question of distance. 

12% of couples slept less than 2.54cm (an inch) apart, and 2% spent the night over 76.2cm (30 inches) apart. 

What did couples’ sleeping positions say about their relationship satisfaction? 

In this research, the further apart a couple slept, the less likely they were to report high relationship satisfaction. 

86% of those who slept less than 2.54cm apart said they were happy in their relationship, with that figure dipping to 66% for those who slept over 76.2cm apart. 

“One of the most important differences involved touching, with 94% of couples who spent the night in contact with one another were happy with their relationship, compared to just 68% of those that didn’t touch,” Professor Wiseman said. 

The survey also suggested that more extroverted people tended to sleep closer to their partners, while creative people were more likely to sleep on their left side. 

“This is the first survey to examine couples’ sleeping positions, and the results allow people to gain an insight into someone’s personality and relationship by simply asking them about their favourite sleeping position,” Professor Wiseman said.