What Does Your Couple Sleeping Position Say About Your Relationship?

What Your Sleeping Position Says About Your Relationship

Sleeping Positions

by Lauren Smith |
Published on

Are you a big spoon or a little spoon? Do you sleep cuddled up tight, or do you try and stay as far away from each other as possible during slumbering hours?

A set of diagrams on Littlethings.com showing common sleeping positions alongside analysis from a whole host of sleep and body language experts has gone viral. According to these experts, our subconscious minds take over when we sleep, therefore our sleeping positions could indicate how we're really feeling.

While you might not think that how you sleep means that much (because sometimes, you're knackered and literally fall into bed before considering how you cuddle), some of the findings are interesting.

Here are some of the most popular sleeping positions - and what they supposedly mean for your relationship. As someone who flits from being as bed hog, to being 'chased', to being a spoon, I found the results fascinating.

Head here for Littlethings.com's cute diagrams that illustrate each position.

The Spoon

Love a bit of spooning? According to relationship psychologist Corrine Sweet, this position means that “One partner takes a protective stance over the other" - it also displays trust, and has sexual connotations too, apparently.

This then progresses to the "Loose Spoon" in couples that have been together longer, as we stop holding on so tight so we can get a better quality night of sleep. So loosening off from hugging super close at night doesn't mean anything bad - it's just a bit less sexual and a bit calmer of a sleeping position.

The Chase

This is a lot like spooning, but is said to be more one-sided - because it happens when one person is on the far side of the bed - and the other has 'chased' them over to hold them tight. Samuel Dunkell, author of Sleep Positions: The Night Language of the Body calls this "illegal spooning", and hints it means that the other person wants space, or is playing hard to get.

The Tangle

All up in each other's grill when you sleep? Completely entwined and holding each other tight? Surprise, surprise, this position means you are intimate as a couple and intense emotions are at play. And if you 'unravel' afterwards, apparently that's a good thing too - because you have a balance between intimacy and independance. And if you sleep with your head on your partner's chest, it mean you're in a "nutrtering" relationship.

The Space Hog

This is where the analysis gets interesting - and might be good to wheel out if your partner takes up too much room. Apparently the bed hog is a more selfish and dominating person (although surely it could just mean they really like sleep?! We say this as a bed hog). **

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The "Liberty Lovers"

This means you sleep with your backs facing each other. But the littlethings.com article indicates it's not actually a bad thing, according relationship psychologist Corrine Sweet - it shows couples are “connected and secure in themselves."

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