What’s your preference in bed?

Don’t panic. This isn’t X rated , but it got your attention didn’t it!

Hubby started it. He asked me which glove I put on first, my left or my right. I had to think about it. I knew when I took them off it was always the left first. Since then, I’ve become very aware of the way I get dressed, and I’ve discovered I always seem to put my left sock on first too. Could that be because I’m right handed? Hubby’s a leftie, and yes, he puts his right glove on first.

Note: just in case you were curious on the subject matter, we do not wear gloves in bed…. the question was asked as we were going out for our walk.

So to tie in with my title, which side of the bed is your preference? Is there a right side or wrong side for spouses and/or partners? Is it to do with the position of the bed, windows, doors, a draught?

Hubby and I have just switched sides. No, this was not because the mattress is sagging on my side. He hadn’t been sleeping very well for months, so I suggested we changed over to see if that improved things. It has, enormously, and he is sleeping much better. We moved the clock radio to ‘my side’ this week, and I am now sleeping by the window (the street light doesn’t bother me) .

Actually though, it’s taken a while for me to adjust. The important buttons on the clock radio are now out of reach and I can’t slip my hand out from under the duvet to hit sleeper or snooze anymore as they’re on the far side. It was no good leaving it on his side as the display is too bright for him, and he doesn’t understand what button to push for the CD or radio. Setting either of the dual alarms to come on to buzzer, radio or CD confuses him, and basically he screws up the tuning when trying to adjust the volume (bless him) .

Also, getting my legs organised is proving a bit iffy as I’m sleeping the other way and sticking my feet out of the bed which was the norm doesn’t work out so comfortably. The dog is also confused as my legs aren’t where they used to be, so she can’t curl up behind them, and has therefore shifted her position to lie alongside me. Nice and cosy, but with his Nibs on one side doing his slug impression and her ladyship wedging me in on the other, I feel like a sandwich filling, and it gets awfully hot. And I hate being hot, especially at night.

From googled images, it would appear though that in the majority of cases women sleep on the left hand side of the bed. But, for the elderly, the pictures I found showed the other way round. So what determines us?

Looking back over our life together, Hubby seems to be a leftie in the sleeping stakes. Whether it was closest to the door or by the window, he’s always been on the left side. In our third house though, he slept closest to the door, regardless of which way the bed was facing (right and left) . Until last week, he was sleeping by the window, again on the left.

Trust the scientists to get involved though, and it was surprising what was available on the subject.

Was there a tradition? Was it something to do with how our parents slept? Did it go back to the days when the Man took the ‘protective’ position? Loads of theories, but actually no definite answer.

According to a MailOnline report on 22 Dec 2011,

“Research released today has shown that there is such a thing as a right and wrong side of the bed.

Those who have a tendency to migrate to the left of a double bed are apparently happier than their ‘right’ counterparts. The study of 3,000 adults found that that those who sleep on the left are generally more cheerful, but they are also more positive and capable of tackling heavy workloads and a stressful day ahead.”

The Express ran a similar story the following day with the headline ‘Key to a happy life is to sleep on the left side of the bed’.

Now, this is quite interesting as Hubby is usually a cheerful chappy, and I’m the crabby one in the mornings. But now I’m on the left, is that all about to change? I’ll let you know in a week!