Spooning, cuddling, and clinging: we all have different ways of sleeping with those we sleep with.
According to relationship psychologist Corrine Sweet, the way you sleep can reveal a lot about your relationship. If you sleep back-to-back with a gaping hole between the two of you, you’ll be pleased to hear this is not analogous for a failing relationship.
In fact, 27 percent of couples sleep this way. Rather than being a symbol of isolation, it is a sign of independence. If you sleep like this with your partner, you’re likely in a new relationship with them. You too are not quite comfortable with each other but also not distant. You are able to sleep comfortably alone and get close when the moment calls for it.
Read on to learn more about your relationships sleep style:
Spooning:
While this is the most popularly known sleep position, it is not the most popular. Only about 0ne-fifth of couples adopt this position. It is one of protectiveness over the other and shows vulnerability. It is also a sexual position that implies that one partner is saying to the other, “I trust you.”
The big spoon:
Also known as the chaser, this position can symbolize two things according to Sweet. Either the little spoon wants to be pursued by the big spoon and seeks to be desired, or the big spoon is clinging to and possibly smothering the little spoon.
This is not true for all spooning positions, only those in which one partner shows the desire for space, while the other actively shows the desire for closeness.
The hog:
If one partner takes the starfish position while the other is left hanging off the bed, it’s time to have an honest conversation Sweet says.
Sleeping together is a compromise that requires both parties to give and take. If one is taking too much while the other gives too much, the relationship may not be where it should be. If you find yourself sleeping like this, Sweet urges lovers to think about their place in the relationship and if they are on equal playing fields.
The forward cuddle:
If you’re still sleeping like this, you’re probably in the first three weeks of the relationship. Give it another month or two and you’ll see the impracticality of the position.
If, however, you find yourself sleeping like this well after the relationship has past the honeymoon phase, it may be a sign of too much dependence. If you and your partner can’t be apart when you sleep, it could reveal too many aspects of shared identity, according to Sweet.
The unraveling knot
This is the sleep position that follows the forward cuddle. It’s actually a sign of a healthy relationship because it shows the best of both worlds. While the forward cuddle shows the desire for intimacy and closeness, the unraveling of that knot shows independence and interdependence exist in a relationship of extreme closeness.
[Featured Image Credit: Glamour]