Which side of the bed?
 

Hi everyone. Talking to a few friends the other day I realized that their dads always slept on one side, and their mothers on the other. It's always been my understanding that most couples sleep with the man on the right, and the woman on the left.

For the purposes of this poll:

- If you are both lying on your backs, the woman is on the left, and the man is on the right. (Woman to the left of the man)

- If you are both lying on your backs, the man is on the left, and the woman is on the right. (Man to the left of the woman)

I'm wondering whether there's a reason for this (like men walking on the road-side of the sidewalk, to protect the lady from splashes of mud from passing cars) or if it really is just random, half-and-half.

I sleep on the left side (girl) and it's mainly for comfort.

vote Lying on your back: woman to the left of the man.

I've noticed that my parents do sleep like that, but me and my gf don't have a preference.

i sleep on the left

i like sleeping on the left side of the bed but on my front.

Man to the left of the woman. That's just how it somehow managed to be from the start.

Depending where we lived she takes the side closer to the bathroom. Currently she is on the right and I am on the left or in the other room if the 3 1/2 year old decides his room is to scary.

I'm with JonesBoys on this one...she gets the one closer to the bathroom, or if we're in a small room (like a guestroom), the side thats NOT against the wall. As for the scary room, I'll update you in 3 yrs when my son is 3.5 yrs old :)

Going back to when we first had kids, she asked me to get them all the time in the night, so I was always closest to the door to her right.

Wasn't this a Seinfield episode?

It may have been a Seinfeld episode, it's been too long since I've seen that show! I guess my question is inane enough for them to make an episode out of ;)

Wow, 50% for both answers so far, this has totally blown my theory out of the water.

At home, man on the right. At a hotel, I get the side by the table, so that I have a place to put my glasses.

On the left, but last year on the right. Depends which side is against the wall. Also, it's just a twin, so that makes it fun. (College)

When I'm laying in bed, my bf is on my left side.

He prefers sleeping on his left side facing out, and I don't have a preference in sleeping position as such....but being on the right side, I'm
1. closer to the door - every night I'm up at least 1x to pee ... and I'm first out of bed in the morning
2. My side of the bed is directly under a skylight, so I can lay in bed and stare at the stars. (we set the bed up that way on purpose). :)

the light is on my side as well, so I'm the one who gets to turn off the light. :|

I prefer the top side of the bed. You're welcome to the underside if you like, or maybe the left or right side.

Well, I don't have anyone to share a bed with, but I do remember that my dad always slept to the left of my mom, the reason being that she needed to be closer to the door when she was pregnant with me so she could get to the bathroom without waking him up. Before that, she had always slept on the left (away from the door) because he had to get up for work earlier than she did. They just never switched back after having children.

One of our favorite recent purchases was a combination remote/dimmer switch for the main light in our bedroom. Very easy to install, and very decadent. I can't recommend this enough.

I find I like to be on the left side of the girl, just seems more comfortable for me (i tend to enjoy having my arm around her initially while sleeping, and right arm around is just more comfortable for me). Otherwise, nearest to the wall if the bed's against the wall.

Hell, I'm supposed to be on the right side, but depending on which bed, and where Anitra has the bed in the room, sometimes I'm on the left. I look at it this way, I'm damned lucky to be in bed with a sexy, good looking woman anyway, not gonna bitch very much about what part of the bed. At least It hasn't been down at the foot yet!

I really don't care what side of the bed I'm on if there's a guy there. I'm adaptable :D

For now I get the middle, cuz my bed's ALLL mine :lol:

I sleep on the right. It wasn't always so--when we started sleeping together, it was in college dorm twin beds, and we sort of did whatever it took not to fall out. Our first Bed-bed was a double-sized futon, and I slept on the left. We'd snuggle up together the same way every night.

Eventually my chiropracter pointed out that my hips and lower back were in a funny position on account of all that one-sided sleeping. So we traded sides--now I sleep on the right and lurkette's on the left. But now we sleep in a king-sized bed because a) we occasionally have guests, and 2) lurkette's feet twitch and jump and kick all night and I need some real estate to retreat to.

I sleep on the left... because that's where I sleep when she's not here and I'm used to it.

Reason 1 -- I prefer being closer to the bathroom.

Reason 2 -- My ex and I slept the other way; everything about my relationship with Lebell is different (better!)

The wife was agnostic on the subject since she tends to migrate all over the bed anyways. I had always slept the same way due to the way my room was layed out from the time I was 10 to 20. I slept so that my night stand blocked the light from my window and just got very used to that position.

I sleep on the left, he's on the right. Which coincidently is the way my parents sleep. But I chose that side cuz when we first started sleeping together that was the wall side of his bed. I figured if he needed more room I could hug the wall and take up less space (not that we slept much). But it's also the side I always slept on when I was living with my parents - even though I always had a queen size bed I slept of the left cuz it was closest to my table.

Neither, I sleep on my stomach

Depends on what time of the night I'm going to sleep or need to wake up, rather either of us are going to read, where I'm at and if there's a wall.

Pretty much it could go either way.

I am always on his left, and usually I am closer to the door. (Depends on how the room is made)
This reminds of something I heard where the woman sleeps facing the door,( because she usually gets up with the kids) and the woman sits at the kitchen table, seated closer to the kitchen (because she usually gets up more during the meal).
There may have been more, but I can't remember. It all seemed to hold true in my life and friends I asked about it.

I have you closest to the door in case someone breaks in the house.... :lol:

Nah....just kiddin' babe........Just like we were married and will, I am sure, be buried....
Although, it sounds like your fairly well trained........ :lol: :icare: :thumbsup:

Currently she sleeps to the right of me. But we switch places often.

My wife sleeps on the side of the bed that gives her better access to getting to the bathroom. She gets up 2 or 3 times a night where I rarely get up during the night. Currently, I'm sleeping on the right side of the bed. In our old house, I slept on the left side.

My wife prefers me sleeping on the side of the bed closer to the window.
It has been that way in each of the places we haved lived.

I think it's just coincedence but we do sleep the same as my parents did growing up (and as his parents do too), I'm on the left he's on the right. Except for one year we had a waterbed and for some reason I was on the right.

If there are two beds in a hotel room, except for using one for nookie, we both take a bed to spread out (sorry to housekeeping!). :lol: As to actual sleeping, I'm sort of half on my stomach, half on my side with my leg over a pillow and my bottom arm streched up under my head pillow. I also flip from side to side numerous times throughout the night, taking my leg pillow with me. DH hates it because I pull the covers off of him doing this manuvere.

We have a King size but even so, I went through a period a couple years ago where I was like Lurkette, squirming in my sleep. If I had any type of dream/nightmare where I was struggling, I would kick out and just NAIL DH in the leg. He'd get so pissed (as I would) but there wasn't anything I could do about it. The guest bed got used alot for a few months ;)

Ali

As ratbastid pointed out, we started out with me on the right, but switched for chiropractic reasons (hrumph!) By that reasoning, we ought to switch off every so often so we're not always lying on our same sides. I still think of the left side of the bed as "my" side.

I'm surprised by all the responses! I was so sure this poll would be more like 80 per cent 'man on right, woman on left'. At the moment it's 46 per cent to 54 per cent. I've gone my whole life thinking this was one of those 'definites' in life.

I'm also surprised how many people sleep in a way so it's convenient, not just 'because'. I assumed that this was something you just imitated from your parents, and convenience had less to do with it than some sort of tradition. And I never knew how many people changed positions, I thought once someone has a side of the bed, it's that way for life!

/me wonders what else he doesn't know about the world...

Well I would have thought something like that too.

Everyone I know personally here sleeps 'man on right, woman on left'.

I wonder if it's a northern hemisphere / southern hemisphere thing. Much like the way the water swirls down the plug hole... :confused: :)

I like sleeping on the side closer to the door. Right now it's on the left of him, before we moved here it was to his right. I also can't sleep as well on my right side as I can on my left, and usually he's holding me when we fall asleep. If I'm cuddling him, we usually switch sides.

Although, sometimes I'll sleep on the right side (closer to the alarm clock) if he has to wake up for something really important because it wakes me up but not him, so I get to jab him in the ribs :p

I sleep on my right side, so I end up sleeping on the right side of the bed. Also, my husband had a bigger prefernce than I did, and he always picked the left side, so I'm sure that's influenced where I sleep

i usually sleep with my woman to the left but this new girl seems to have turned the tables and scored my side of the bed....i dont like sleeping on my side facing someone else.

I sleep closest to the door- this puts my wife on the left side, and me on the right- this is due to our mutual paranoia- she wants me closest to the only entrance should any unauthorized people come through, and I agree, as it allows me to do much needed product testing should such a situation arise ( I make and sell weapons for a living)

When my x and I slept together, we did the same. He always slept the closest to the door/entrance. I always felt comfortable and protected, and liked it that way.
So any side is good for me, as long as its not closest to the doorway/entrance.

I prefer if I'm on the right and shes on the left.

I sleep to the left of her, even if we are other than at home, I just cant sleep the other way. Call me a creature of habit

I'm very surprised that no-one else has posted anything similar to my reasoning. I sleep on the right of my lady, for a very simple reason:

It puts her between me and the alarm clock. :D

I'm totally useless at getting up in the morning, so she sleeps furthest from the door/closest to the table with the alarm clock on it. The alarm will wake her up, then she wakes me up!

I have been known on many occasions to not only sleep through the alarm, but to roll over and turn it fully off (i.e. not just snooze) without waking at all. We now have two alarm clocks, one at the far end of the room, and a radio too...

Pure logisitics! :thumbsup:

I just want to be as far away from any light source as possible. So for me it is the right

i have to sleep closest to the door and she has to sleep closest to the window. This means every time we stay in a hotel I could invariably change which side of the bed I am on.

It's annoying but I've learned to live it with...

No real reason. Just started with me on the right and her on the left and has remained.

whichever side of the bed the clock radio/alarm clock/ waker-upper is on - -along with a lamp. I spent too much time in hotels, I don't have a side of the bed anymore.

I voted 'woman to left of man', but it changes. One side of the bed is always against a wall, and depending on who has to get up first in the morning, it changes rather regularly. I dunno. If i'm hot, I like sleeping next to the wall (left side) because i curl up against the wall because it's cooler. Otherwise, i choose the outside of the bed (right side) because i sometimes hang a leg over the edge for more room (my most recent lover liked his space lol).

Hmm, can't really answer that, depends on where I am (her place or mine) I always take wallside but that's just because for a 100lb girl she can shove me out of bed like a champ. Need the wall there to make sure I don't have to wakeup every half hour and crawl back on the bed :P

I always sleep on the left side. No particular reason, it just ended up that way...

When we lived in our apartment our bed was pushed against the wall on one side and it sucked so much ass! I always took the outside cuz I got up first. So that was me on his left. We only had a queen size bed then, and it was too small for both of us, so generally we slept in shifts. I slept nights and he slept days.

Now we have a house with a gigantic bedroom and we have our king size bed centered on the wall. Then we got to actually pick a side of the bed! We were excited and spent long seconds in contemplation! I'm on his right, he's to my left and that is the way it shall always remain.

She's gotta be on my left. No way around it.

Being the paranoid bastard that I am, I always sleep on the door side so that I have a clear shot at the doorway. Sight picture counts for a lot in dim-light situations.

my mom sleeps to the left of my dad.

jstrider liked the left and i had no preference, so we both slept on our stomachs (note: you did not have that as a choice) and him on the left of me.

and then a rare chance i had to kinda lie down for a bit with another boyfriend once, he chose the right side of the bed (like i said, i have no preference).

Mife wife sleeps to my left, but there was a point where she slept to my right... doesn't really matter that much to me.

I never had any idea there was a right-side, left-side tradition. I, like many others here, sleep on the outside so I don't have to climb over him in the middle of the night to go pee. Also because I get up earlier in the morning, so it makes sense. But another factor is that I tend to get claustrophobic if I feel trapped, so I also sit on the outside when we go to restaurants, etc.