# Couples, which side of the bed do you sleep on? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 23, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699 "2004-05-23T22:32:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/1 "2004-05-23T22:32:18Z")
I’ve noticed that irishfella and I, his 2 sisters and their husbands and both sets of our parents sleep with the woman on the man’s left side. All the members of these couples are right handed. My WAG is that when a right-handed straight couple are spooning (usually with the guy behind) it makes sense to have their right hands free, for the groping, cuddling and what-not. Obviously I pulled my theory straight out of the air and as it’s based on a small sample group is seriously flawed. 🙂 So, who sleeps where in your bed, and is there any reason you can think of for your arrangement? Help me get to the bottom of this! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/2 "2004-05-23T22:40:08Z")
Same sides as above, and for pretty much the same reasons. However, my parents are the reverse, as are several sets of our friends. Hmmmm…methinks you are going to need a _much_ bigger sampling! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@CalH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalH)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/3 "2004-05-23T22:41:18Z")
My girl and me usually sleep on both sides of the bed. We tend to find that it results in using up more of the space overall, rather than sharing half the bed which would leave a whole half unattended to. But that’s just us. > [@](#): > > I’ve noticed that irishfella and I, his 2 sisters and their husbands and both sets of our parents sleep with the woman on the man’s left side. All the members of these couples are right handed. You guys must have a big bed. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/4 "2004-05-23T22:50:03Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > I’ve noticed that irishfella and I, his 2 sisters and their husbands and both sets of our parents sleep with the woman on the man’s left side. Left side face up or face down? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/5 "2004-05-23T22:54:42Z")
I sleep on my SO’s left, not for sexy reasons, but because he tends to migrate to the right while he sleeps, and he pushes me out of bed. I’d rather sleep on the right, but it’s too frustrating. I’m right handed, but groping-ambidextrous. Are men really less adroit when they fondle with their left? ZJ ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/6 "2004-05-23T22:59:32Z")
I’ve always thought that a couple slept in bed in the positions they would normally take when in a car together. I hadn’t thought of the right handed groping while spooning theory. I know some couples where the man sleeps closest to the bedroom door, supposedly for protection . I always sleep on the man’s left, because I like that side of the bed. My three long term relationships have also been right handed and it also works out right for the car theory in this part of the world. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/7 "2004-05-23T23:17:27Z")
I’m on the left, my wife is on the right. But she hogs the blankets, rolls up like a burrito, and spreads out in the middle of the bed. So if we’re talking sides, I’m on the out, and she’s in. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/8 "2004-05-23T23:18:11Z")
> [@Zjestika](#): > > I sleep on my SO’s left, not for sexy reasons, but because he tends to migrate to the right while he sleeps, and he pushes me out of bed. Similarly, when my ex and I slept together I was on the side to the wall - which coincidentally put her to my left - because I tended to shift a lot in my sleep and the one time I was on the outside, I smooshed her against the wall. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/9 "2004-05-24T00:29:48Z")
It depends on whose apartment we’re at. At his place, I sleep on his right. At mine, I sleep on his left. The reason for that is because each of us keeps our alarm clock on the left side of the bed. The owner of the alarm clock is responsible for hitting the snooze button, to minimize any chance of accidentally turning it off due to the unfamiliarity of the alarm. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/10 "2004-05-24T00:33:55Z")
She’s always slept on the left side of her bed, and I saw no reason to change that. We’re both left-handed, FTR, though I’m somewhat ambidextrous. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/11 "2004-05-24T00:34:28Z")
I currently sleep on Ukulele Lady’s right-hand side. No real reason. When we are on vacation, or for other reasons are sleeping in strange beds, I just ask “Which side do you want?” (I was raised right) And she tells me, based on where the window is, where the phone is, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![GoodGrief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/2acd7d/32.png) [@GoodGrief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodGrief)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/12 "2004-05-24T00:57:58Z")
I sleep on his right. We are both right handed. I don’t know why-that’s just how we started out. We’ve got a king size bed, so for the most part, I don’t even know he’s there! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/13 "2004-05-24T01:03:14Z")
**Stonebow** sleeps on the left, and I sleep on the right. Not due to any preference or spoon-factor, but because he sleeps on the side nearest the door. Before we rearranged the bedroom, it was just the opposite. It just makes me feel safer to have him near the door. FB ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/14 "2004-05-24T02:37:36Z")
The top side. Actually, I generally sleep on the side with easiest access to the bathroom, since it’s highly likely I’ll be getting up sometime during the night. So it varies depending on where we are. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/15 "2004-05-24T02:46:12Z")
I always sleep on his left, no matter where we are. At home, I’m closer to the door, and at my parent’s place he is. I tend to spoon him, as I love to cuddle when I sleep. He doesn’t like holding me, because I tend to toss my head back when I lie down and it makes it awkward to hold me. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/16 "2004-05-24T03:02:16Z")
My ex was a “I sleep on the side closest to the door to protect you” kind of guy, so every time we rearranged or moved, we’d switch sides. The problems arose when we had kids…I was always having to get up in the middle of the night to nurse or go potty, and I would have preferred being closer to the door, but not a chance. Now that I sleep alone, I sleep on the right side of the bed (as you are laying on your back in bed…the left side if you are standing looking at it from the foot), so a guy would fit very nicely on my left. I sleep on my right side, facing the alarm clock, and I still miss having someone curled up behind me with his arm flung over me, cupping my breast. But I don’t miss him. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/17 "2004-05-24T03:30:51Z")
Currently, I sleep on the right, near the bedroom door. I used to sleep on the left, away from the door, when we had a different house, but I can’t remember why we ended up this way here. It seems to me it had something to do with where the outlet for the alarm clock is, but I could be wrong about that. I have personal space issues\*, so when I sleep I tend to face away from my husband and right at the edge of a giant king-sized bed. (\*Nothing to do with my dear bed partner, with whom I am perfectly happy to cuddle when awake. I’m just very claustrophobic in general and feel like I’m being smothered if there’s another body too close.) ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/18 "2004-05-24T03:33:38Z")
**Morelin** sleeps on my right (though given the amount I toss and turn, she also sleeps on my left) at the moment. Though I think she’s slept on my left at some point. It’s usually “However we fall into bed on the first night” and that’s what we stick with. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/19 "2004-05-24T04:02:43Z")
Mr. Congo and I are both righthanded. I sleep on his right because I get up first and the alarm is on the right. Neither of us really cares where we sleep. On weekends when I don’t have to get up before him, I sleep on the left near the wall because he usually goes to bed later and the right side is easier to get in on. On vacation, we usually sleep on whichever side is closest to us. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699/20 "2004-05-24T04:04:15Z")
> [@FaerieBeth](#): > > **Stonebow** sleeps on the left, and I sleep on the right. Not due to any preference or spoon-factor, but because he sleeps on the side nearest the door. Before we rearranged the bedroom, it was just the opposite. > > It just makes me feel safer to have him near the door. > > FB Exactly how Mrs. Uvula and I sleep. Including when we travel: I always sleep on the side nearest the door because it makes her feel more secure. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couples-which-side-of-the-bed-do-you-sleep-on/246699.md?page=2)