Sleep positions reveal secrets of relationships

Our body language when we sleep and the specific sleep positions we take when sharing a bed, can be an indicator of our health and our relationship. According to a study published at the Edinburgh International Science Festival, the closeness of a couple and how happy they are in their relationship is reflected in the distance they keep between themselves as they sleep, the Medical Daily reports.

"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 favorite sleeping position," said Richard Wiseman, lead author of the study, and psychology professor at the University of Hertfordshire. Wiseman’s research expands on the work by psychiatrist Samuel Dunkell, author of "Good-bye Insomnia, Hello Sleep,” who has analyzed the body language of sleep for more than 25 years.

Wiseman’s study, conducted as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival, sought to reveal how it is possible to tell how happy a couple is together by measuring the distance between them as they sleep. Over 1,000 people filled out a survey that asked them to describe their preferred sleeping position and to rate their personality and quality of their relationship.

The findings revealed the most popular sleep positions for surveyed couples: 42 percent slept back-to-back, 31 percent slept facing the same direction, and just four percent spent the night facing one another. In regard to distance, 12 percent of couples spent the night less than an inch apart, while two percent of the survey respondents spent over 30 inches apart. Overall, the farther apart the couples spent the night, the worse their relationship fared. Of those who slept less than an inch apart, 86 percent reported being happy with their partner.

Touching during sleep was also found to be a significant indicator of relationship quality among couples. Those in the happiest relationships slept face-to-face while touching.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter