What Does Your Sleep Position Say About You?

I recently became addicted to the TV show "Lie to Me," a TV show about a man who figures out crimes by reading subtle facial expressions and body language. He is often enlisted by the FBI to interview suspects, but he also takes on non-crime related tasks - in one episode a very rich man wanted to know if his wife loved him for himself or his money. It's like CSI meets the Davinci Code.

I've been fascinated by the idea of what our bodies give away about ourselves. And one interesting thing I found is that how we sleep says something about us. According to the Internet, there are essentially six different sleep positions with distinct personality characteristics:

Fetal Position (41%) Curled up on your side. Women are twice as likely to rest like this and it is listed as the most common position. These sleepers are said to have a tough exterior but are still sensitive and may appear to be shy but warm up quickly.

Log Position (15%) On your side with legs outstretched and arms at your sides. If you sleep on your side with both arms down, you are a social, easy-going person who is trusting, sometimes to the point of being gullible.

Yearner Position (13%) Similar to the log, but with arms outstretched. A close third is the side-lying position with both arms out in front of the body, with 13% of partipants sleeping like this. Yearners are noted to be open-minded and still cynical, suspicious, and stubborn about sticking to decisions once they are made.

Soldier Position (8%) Flat on your back with arms at your sides. These sleepers lie on their backs with arms down and kept close to the body. This 8% study is said to be reserved, quiet, without fuss, and hold themselves and others to a high standard.

Freefall Position (7%) Flat on your stomach with arms at the head or ears. Those people who lie on their bellies with arms under or wrapped around a pillow with head turned to the side, make up 7% of the population studied. Freefallers are brash, outgoing, and are very uncomfortable with criticism.

Starfish Position (5%) Lying on your back with arms and legs outstretched. These people are good listeners, helpful, and are uncomfortable being the center of attention.
For those of you who haven't slept with me, I spend most of my night curled up in the fetal position like a hedgehog or velociraptor tightly clutching a nest of eggs. But I can't fall asleep in that position. I can only fall asleep on my back (a la "soldier" or "starfish"). But it's not really either one of these because I can't sleep with my arms down at my sides or over my head. Instead, they are comfortably resting on my chest. It is clear to me that they have left out an important segment of sleepers: the mummy vampires.

Mummy vampire (1%) Lying on your back with arms covering your heart. Indicates a trustworthy and faithful corpse. He or she makes friends easily, but will let few into the inner circle. Sensitive, introspective and likely to drink your blood for sexual arousal.
What else has the Internet missed?

---


This was originally posted this in the Robot vs. Dinosaur blog in August 2010, but I liked it to so much I thought I'd share it here, too.