No one likes a blanket hog. And, guess what? Your sleeping position might say a lot more about you — and your relationship — than you realize, says The Cut. In particular, how close you and your partner sleep to each other could be correlated with your level of satisfaction in the relationship.
The experiment, presented at the Edinburgh International Science Festival, involved asking about 1,000 people about their sleeping habits and their feelings about their relationships. According to the self-reported data, those couples who slept closer together in bed were more satisfied — especially those who were actually touching each other while they slept. In particular, 86% of those who slept less than inch away from their partner reported being happy in the relationship. But, over two-thirds of those who slept more than 30 inches away from a partner also reported that they were happy with the relationship.
Although it may seem like simply sleeping in the same bed would be more relationship-nurturing than the alternative, previous research actually indicates that women sleep better when they're alone. And, of course, well-rested partners are more likely to also be happier and healthier partners. Plus, other research has shown that couples who are happier tend to wake up and fall asleep at the same times. So, being together while you're asleep probably isn't as important as making the most out of the time you both spend awake.
We should point out that self-reported data isn't always the most reliable, and there's no indication in the current study that sleeping farther away from your partner could actually lead to less satisfaction. Still, we'll count this as a (small) victory for the cuddlers.