I’m in possession of anecdotal evidence which suggests that the vast majority of men sleep on the left side of the bed whereas women tend to sleep on the right. The orientation should be taken from a stance at the foot of the bed.
Factors taken into account in this regard variously include the dominant hand of both parties, the proximity of the bedroom door to the bed, and the location of the bathroom with respect to the bed. For example, my partner has had two previous relationships - one with a right handed man during which she slept on the right and another with a southpaw during which she slept on the left. She denies ever having a relationship with a man whose skills included ambidexterity.
While this OP may motivate people to contribute their own experiences of such matters, which I personally don’t have a problem with, I’m far more interested in whether or not any studies have been carried out regarding male/female positioning for the purposes of sleep.
It’s more than possible that cites and sources for this subject appear in previous threads which, if they exist, I am unable to locate. Please supply a link if the matter has been discussed before, but only if the source material qualifies as reliable.
It seems logical to me that the person who gets up to go to the bathroom the most often should sleep on the side of the bed that is closest to the bathroom. That’s the way my husband and I have always done it. When we change our furniture layout (or stay in a motel), we quickly note which side of the bed has the easiest bathroom access, and that determines our sleeping positions.
Similar to pinkfreud. I almost always get up earlier than my wife, so I’ve always taken the bed closer to the door, in all of the various places we’ve lived.
I’ve slept closest to the door for over a decade with my wife. She figures if burglers or Keeblers break in that I’ll be able to take care of them first, before they get to her…
Ahh, you laugh…then…you doubt that I am totally serious.
Basically in our house it has worked out most of the time that I sleep on the right and she on the left.
I am right-handed, my wife is normodextrous, but my former partner was of the cackhanded persuasion. During both relationships I slept on the left as defined by the OP, and this despite moving close to thirty times, and staying in countless hotels, with the bathroom at different places variously during all those moves.
I indeed sleep on the left, but in our current house, that is closer to the bathroom, and in the previous one, it was further away. In both cases it was closer to the door, though, if that has anything to do with it. We chose right after we got married, and now we’re used to it.
I find this method of determining the orientation to be confusing.
If I stand at the foot of my bed and look towards the headboard, the side I sleep on would be to my left. If I’m actually in the bed, on my back, I’m on the same side as my right arm would hang off of if I get too close to the edge.
I’d say, if asked, that I sleep on the right side of the bed. Going by the method in the OP, I’d be sleeping on the left side unless he means I should stand at the foot of the bed with my back to the headboard and fall over backwards to get into bed. Then it would be the right side as well.
It’s the side closest to the door, which is closest to the bathroom.
Being of the opposite political persuasion of Bricker, my wife and I naturally do the reverse of what he does.
But to actually address the OP, I would think it would be 50/50 either way, because the variables determining sleeping position – location of the bathroom, location of the nightstand, work schedules, etc. – are more or less independent of gender.
The OP is looking for factual studies. While they may exist, they may not. In the mean time, the opinions are better off in IMHO, where you can even get factual information many times.
My husband and I have lived in seven different locations together. We are both right handed.
#1. He slept on right, closest to bathroom and door. #2. He slept on right, closest to bathroom, equidistant to door. #3. He slept on left, closest to bathroom and door. #4. He slept on left, equdistant to bathroom and furthest from door. #5. He slept on left, furthest from bathroom and door. #6. He slept on left, furthest from bathroom and door. #7. He sleeps on left, closest to bathroom and equidistant to door.
My wife and I are both left-handed. Since we first moved in together about 10 years ago, I have always slept to her left, which, from the OP’s perspective, would put me on the right side of the bed.
When we first moved in together, that would have put me closest to the bathroom and bedroom door. I don’t recall if that’s how I ended up on that side or not. However, the setup of our current bedroom is completely the opposite, and we’ve inhabited this room for the last 6+ years. I may be farthest from the bathroom and the door, but I’m closest to the window that has the box fan in it and is the source of all cool air. And thus, I win.
For what it’s worth, my wife just about always offers to switch sides when we’re in a hotel room or somewhere that switching sides would put me nearer to the cold air, but I’m just more comfortable being to her left. Why fix what ain’t broken?
I also make my husband sleep closest to the door. He points out that if the monsters come in through the window instead, then I’m screwed, but I’ll take that risk.
No worries. It was a photo finish between here and GQ.
Apropos, I stipulate an orientation merely to ensure that all contributors are singing from the same hymn sheet. My most gracious apologies to those who find this method confusing.
A Roomba is good at keeping the space under the bed from turning into the Dread Zone.
In the house we’ve lived in for the past nine years, I’ve been on the right, and my wife has been on the left, as seen from the foot of the bed. The bathroom’s closer to the foot of the bed than to either side.
In the places we were living before then (the first 7 years of our marriage, plus during our courtship), I slept on the left and my wife slept on the right. In some of those places, the bathroom was nearer my side; sometimes it wasn’t.
Funny enough, I do remember reading about a study done on this subject. Sorry, no cite – it was years ago. It didn’t specify right vs left, but did conclude that women tend to be positioned closer to the door. This seemed to be more prevalent in homes with minor children, but not limited to such.
The reasoning was that when Jr wakes up with a nightmare, it is usually Mom who comforts him, thus necessitating the proximity to the door.
In my house, oddly enough, I sleep furthest from the door, but it is the right side of the bed.
