What Your Favorite Sleep Position Says About You

by Lexi Petronis, Glamour

This morning came way too early and I so wish I was still in my favorite sleep position: belly-side down, hands under pillow, head to the side. (Though any sleep position seems dreamy right now, honestly.) Could there be a link between how you sleep--and who you are?

Recent articles have cited Robert Phipps, a body language expert who determined certain "sleep-o-scopes" (kind of like horoscopes) to explain how personality and sleep position may be linked. For example, he said that fetal position sleepers are worriers (because they're curled up, they may be looking for unconscious comfort), while people who sleep on their stomachs with their arms out are "free fallers" who feel like their lives may be out of their control.

But here's the thing. Phipps says that he didn't do any serious research to come up with the above links between position and personality; it was more for fun.

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Does that mean there's no link, though? Earlier research has lent some science to the idea. One study of more than 1,000 people found that these traits could be correlated with certain positions:

* If you curl up in the fetus position, you may tough on the outside but sensitive on the inside; and possibly shy when you first meet someone.
* Lying on your side with both arms down by your side could mean you're easy-going and social, though maybe gullible.
* Sleeping on your side with both arms out in front may mean you have an open nature, but can be suspicious.
* Lying on your back with both arms at your sides could indicate you're quiet and reserved, setting high standards for yourself and others.
* Lying on your stomach with your hands around the pillow, and your head turned to one side, means you're gregarious and brash, but also thin-skinned and don't like criticism.
* Lying on your back with both arms up around the pillow indicates you could be a good friend because you're always ready to listen and offer help (but you don't like being the center of attention).

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Experts believe there may be ties between sleep and personality, but they're tenuous--especially since we all move around while we sleep, going from one position to the next. Ultimately, says Philip Gehrman, a professor of psychiatry and a member of the Penn Sleep Center, the position in which you sleep comes down to one thing: "It's really just a matter [of whether] you are comfortable."

What's your favorite sleeping position? Just for fun: does your sleeping position match the personality trait that's supposed to go with it, above?

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