What your sleeping position with your partner says about your relationship

How do you and your significant other sleep together?

Your sleeping positions can be very telling about your relationship.

Subconsciousness

Our subconscious tends to take over our bodies for a bit while we’re asleep, according to website Little Things. That’s why the way we fall asleep with our partner can reveal a lot about our relationship. Below you’ll find several sleeping positions and what they mean!

1. Spooning

According to relationship psychologist Corrine Sweet, only 18% of couples actually spoons at night – a relatively small percentage. According to Sweet this position puts one person ‘in a protective role over the other’. Body language expert Patti Wood adds this is a sign of trust from the small to the big spoon.

2. Loose spooning

The loose spoon is essentially the same thing as spooning, but allows for some leeway rather than being tightly huddled up together. Especially couples that have just gotten together will stay closer together, but the loose spoon starts showing up when a couple has been together for a little while longer. Paul Rosenblatt, author of Two in a Bed: The Social System of Couple Bed Sharing argues this is a good position for optimal sleep. Wood adds again that this is still a sign of a protective bond between the two partners.

3. The chase

While this sounds complicated, this position starts off the same as spooning. It entails one person facing out on their side of the bed, while the other rolls or shuffles towards this person. Essentially this means the first person is being ‘chased’ to their side of the bed. According to Samuel Dunkell, who wrote Sleep Positions: The Night Language of the Body, it’s quite possible that the person being ‘chased’ needs some space.

4. The tangle

A couple in a tangle is quite literally entangled with each other while lying facing each other. This position doesn’t show up a lot, but will occasionally take place after a couple has just made love or is in the beginnings of their relationship. Some couples will stick to sleeping in a tangle, but psychotherapist Elizabeth Flynn Campbell warns this isn’t always a good sign. “It’s possible this couple is focussing too much on each other and has grown too dependent on each other to sleep apart.

5. The untangled

This means two people will fall asleep as described above: in a tangle. However, after a minute or ten both partners will roll to their own side of the bed. Only about 8 percent of couples sleeps like this, and it’s a much better alternative to sleeping in a tangle. “It’s a compromise between intimacy and independence. This position offers the best of both worlds”, says relationship psychologist Corrine Sweet.

6. The liberty lovers

This position means you and your partner both face out while sleeping next to each other, and your backs don’t touch. Sweet explains this is a popular choice in sleeping positions, with approximately 27 percent of couples sleeping like this. According to her, it shows couples feel connected, but they’re also confident and independent in their relationship.