Sharing a bed with your partner and having sex with your partner don't necessarily go hand in hand, and a new survey shows that some sleeping positions are more associated with having sex than others. Mattress Advisor, which provides reviews of mattresses and sleep advice, surveyed 1,000 Americans aged 18 to 73 about their sleeping habits — and their relationships. As you can imagine, there were a lot of connections between the two.
Some of the connections were more general, like the fact that sleeping better was related to happier relationships. Among those surveyed who didn't sleep very well, only 74.5 percent of people were satisfied with their relationship. But for people who did sleep well, almost everyone — 95.9 percent — was satisfied in their relationship. With how important sleep is to your overall health, maybe it's no surprise.
"Sharing a sleeping space is not always easy," Alesandra Woolley, a rep for Mattress Advisor, tells Bustle. "Many couples struggle with finding sleeping positions, or even a mattress that they both find comfortable." In fact, it's so important that Mattress Advisor has a mattress guide for couples to pick out the right mattress, which is definitely helpful when you and your partner's sleeping preferences differ.
Woolley stresses that you shouldn't be afraid to talk to your partner if you're having trouble sleeping. "As our study shows, being comfortable in bed can have an impact on a couple's overall relationship happiness, so it's an important, and often overlooked, topic to discuss," Woolley says. "Particularly if you're in a new relationship, having the conversation about sleeping positions or choosing not to engage in a position you find uncomfortable can be difficult. My best advice is don't be shy about letting your partner know what you do and don't find comfortable, and ask them the same questions. Being on the same page can lead to relationship happiness as well."
But that wasn't where the connections between sleep and relationships ended — sleep affected couples' sex lives, too. Respondents were asked to rate how much they have sex on a scale of one to five (with five meaning you have sex every night). They found that different positions were linked with having sex more or having it, well, not so much. Here's how the positions ranked.
1
Facing Each Other & Intertwined
Couples who slept facing each other with their limbs intertwined were having the most sex — ranking themselves a 4.2/5. In a way, it's not surprising, it's a pretty passionate way to sleep. It's almost like you dozed off kissing.
2
Spooning
This old chestnut! I still maintain that spooning is the dream sleeping position if there was a way to keep your bottom arm from going so numb you think it's an alien limb. But still, it's really popular — and scores pretty well on the sex scale. Spooners ranked their sexual frequency at a 3.7/5.
3
The Nook
There's nothing like finding — and staying in — the nook. it wasn't associated with as much sex as the positions above, ranking a 3.4/5.
4
The Faceplant
OK, so maybe faceplant isn't the technical term, but it's sort of like sleeping in the nook, but also sort of like being a human kuala. Either way, it also scored a 3.4/5.
5
Spread Out
Even though this position might not look as intimate as the others, you can see that they're still touching. There's contact at the feet, shoulder, and you could even hold hands in this position. It only scored a 3.3/5 (over a whole point lower than facing each other) but some other popular positions, like sleeping back-to-back, didn't even make the top five. It seems like positions where there's still physical contact, even if it's not as much, is linked to more sex.
Sleep positions are very personal and even if you don't like touching at all while you sleep, it doesn't mean that your sex life is doomed. Of course, you don't need to be curled up in a ball together to be a strong couple, but it is interesting to see which positions are linked to getting down more. And if you sleep all tangled up in each other, and it's working for you, keep doing what you're doing.
