Sleeping on the right side of the bed makes us grumpy.
That's the conclusion of a recent U.K. study. In other research, scientists and psychologists have carefully examined sleeping positions as a means of revealing personality traits and analyzing non-verbal communication.
It's better to sleep on the left side of the bed if we want to get the day off to a good start, according to the findings of a survey published on November 23 by the bed manufacturing firm Sealy UK. The brand questioned 1,000 people across the country to find out what impact our sleeping habits in bed had on our mood, career, and outlook on life.
The study revealed that people who usually slept on the left side of the bed were eight per cent more likely to have friends and like their work, four per cent more inclined to wake up in a good mood and 9.5 per cent more likely to have a more positive outlook on life.
Conversely, those who slept on the right side of the bed were nine per cent more inclined to prefer their own company, seven per cent more likely to get up in bad mood, five per cent more likely to be pessimistic and three per cent more likely to dislike their job.
The study also highlighted Britons' marked preference for sleeping alone, as 36 per cent admitted to doing this, in many cases because of a snoring spouse (one in two complained about this), while 1 in 10 voluntarily sleeps with a child or an animal in their bed.
Many researchers and psychologists have also sought to examine sleep habits as a means of revealing the state of a relationship.
One example is Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire in the U.K. who studied the way in which 1,000 people slept. The researcher, who presented the conclusions of his study at Edinburgh Science Festival in Scotland in 2014, demonstrated a link between the quality of a couple's relationship and physical contact.
Of those questioned, 86.5 per cent who maintained a maximum distance of 2.5 cm from their spouse were said to have a good relationship.
Chris Idzikowski, a British researcher, sleep specialist and author of the book "Learn to Sleep Well", says that the 15 per cent of the population who sleep vertically, with a straight back, in a so-called log position, have a rational, relaxed and uninhibited personality.
The 13 per cent of the population who sleep in a so-called "yearner" position, back curved with arms out in front are thought to have a complex personality -- friendly but cynical.
Those who sleep like a soldier, on their back, with arms pinned to the sides (eight per cent of the population) are thought to be rather reserved with a tendency towards loyalty and honesty.
The researcher says that the seven per cent of people who sleep on their stomach, with their head turned to one side are big dreamers with an intense personality with rather sensitive and sometimes brash traits.
And the fetal position which is the most commonly adopted, by 41 per cent of the population, mainly women, is thought to be synonymous with people who are sensitive, emotive, and fear being hurt.
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