Study: What Does Your Sleeping Position Say About Your Relationship?

When you were a newborn babe you likely slept for an average of 14 to 17 hours a day. But as adults, Americans get an average of eight-and-a-half hours of sleep every night. If that seems like more sleep than you've gotten in months, then you must be one of the 40% of Americans that gets less than the doctor-recommended amount of sleep each night.

One thing that can have a major impact on your sleep hygiene? Sharing a bed.

How Do You Sleep At Night?
A recent study from the U.K. analyzed the sleeping habits of British couples, and analyzed a number of different sleeping positions. The study found that 94% of couples that maintained physical contact while sleeping described their relationship as happy. On the other hand, one-in-four couples had argued because their sleep habits kept each other awake at night.

Relationship psychologist Corrine Sweet conducted the study, which gave name to a number of sleeping positions. She found that 3% of sleepers adopt the starfish position, extending their limbs and literally pushing their partner away. Then there's the 8% of couples who sleep in the "lovers' knot," in which couples start sleeping face-to-face with their legs intertwined, but separate as they fall asleep. Sweet described the lovers' knot as "a compromise between intimacy and independence, allowing for the best of both worlds."

How To Get a Better Night's Sleep as a Couple?
Unfortunately, there are a number of ways sharing your bed can go wrong. The most common complaint? Snoring, of course.

For couple's looking to get a better night's sleep, there are a number of options to consider. A growing number of couples are opting to sleep in separate beds or rooms. For couple's looking to grow closer even as they sleep, we would recommend investing in a pair of footed pajamas for adults.

Adult onesie pajamas have become increasingly popular over the past five years, featured prominently in popular TV shows and films. While footed pajamas for adults are popular as gag gifts, we promise, you wouldn't be the first couple to receive adult footed PJs as a gift, only to end up falling asleep in them on the regular.

And while there are no corresponding studies on how footed pajamas for adults affect your sleeping habits, there is anecdotal evidence available. Those newborn infants sleeping up to 17 hours a day are often wearing onesie pajamas.