Today I ran. Tempo. 6 miles. 5:30 a.m. 157 average heart rate. Now, onto more critical matters.
Two nights ago, Ken and I switched sides of the bed. You may not think this is a big deal, but it is.
For the past 18 years, I go to the right, he goes left. We do it in tents, hotels, homes we visit – you name it (I am talking about sides of the bed here, get your filthy mind out of the gutter). The kids know to go to the right (my side) in the middle of the night when they are puking because dad will not wake up, or pretend to not wake up.
But, the other night my parents were here for dinner and they said they made “The Switch.” After 50 years. Damn them. Ken looked at me and told me it was time to give up old habits. I said, “No, I can’t do it. I hate change.” It is very easy to be married to me.
Later that night I went to bed early. I got a wild hair. In a frenzy I moved pillows and clock radios. I relocated nightstand contents and water glasses. I then got into my new side of the bed, smirking at how shocked Ken would be. I fell asleep.
Morning came. I was refreshed. This SS (Switching Sides) thing was the bomb! Who said change sucks? This is the key to good sleeping, the secret to happiness. They meaning of life!
I noticed Ken was quiet.
Me (smiling, smug): Hey, were you so surprised when you got into bed last night?
Ken: Yup.
Me: I slept great. How about you?
Ken: I slept awful. Your side of the bed sucks. There is something wrong with that side.
Me: Well, I’m not switching back. Do I really have to switch back? It was your idea.
So, we didn’t SB (Switch Back). Not yet. I slept great again last night. When mama’s happy, everyone’s happy, right? Then I got to thinking: is it true you can really get up on the wrong side of the bed? Is one side better than the other?
Yes, and it’s the LEFT SIDE, according to this study. But, which left side? Is the left side of the bed determined by when you are laying with your head on the pillow staring at the ceiling, or when you are standing and looking at your bed? Is it like a car where the “side” is determined when you are sitting in it?
Anyway, this study says,
“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. More than a quarter of people who snooze on the left side of the bed feel they have a really positive outlook on life in general, compared to 18 per cent of right-side sleepers.”
Who knew? This is all so confusing. Think I’ll just sleep like this:
Do you have a favorite side of the bed? Would you switch?
SUAR
This sounds just like my husband and I! I KNOW his side of the bed is better. For one thing, the AC actually hits it. But more importantly the mattress on his side is just infinitely better.
ReplyDeleteHaha this is so funny! I've actually wondered about that before too, but my husband and I always sleep on the same sides when we go to hotels, other peoples houses, our house, etc.! I sleep on the "left side if you're laying in bed looking at the ceiling" but I guess it's the "right side if you're standing looking at the bed" so that definitely confuses me.
ReplyDeleteFunny post I liked it a lot!
We just did the switch after 12 years. Funnily enough, neither of us minded, but the 11 year old cat could not adjust and kept sleeping at my husband's feet, which meant his feet were on my side
ReplyDeleteWe should probably do the switch too. Because I sleep on the right---and my side DOES suck! lol ;) He'll never know....
ReplyDeleteSarah
www.thinfluenced.com
the grass is always greener......her side sucks
ReplyDeleteI sleep on my left side and just cannot sleep at all if my feet don't peek out from under the covers. They are my heat regulators. If it's a bit warm, they come out a bit. If it's cooler, they come in a bit. My mom is the same way. So sleeping on the other side of the bed means that my feet can't stick out from under the covers and then I'd suffocate.
ReplyDeleteYes I do have my side, which was pre determined when we moved into our knew house...would I be able to switch? That would all depend on our dog's opinion i take it...however when my wife has to leave early and I get to sleep in i Love moving over to her side...must be a mental thing
ReplyDeleteIf we switched, we'd have to flip the mattress. My husband is a big guy and his side of the mattress has a big-husband-sized divot in it. I hate sleeping in it. The cat, however, doesn't mind at all.
ReplyDeleteIs the side defined by when you are lying in bed or when you are standing looking at it?
ReplyDeleteThat's what I can't figure out.
DeleteI always sleep on the left side of the bed because I also sleep on my left side and like to hang my feet over the side of the bed.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER when in hotels, we sometimes switch up. Just depends on which side I collapse on first or which side has the most convenient access to outlets so that I can plug in my phone. (sorry husband)
So funny! Another great post. We have his and her sides depending on where the door is located. So over the course of 18 years of marriage is has changed from house to house. It changes if we're visiting my parents, at our cottage or at a hotel. You see I like to sleep farthest from the door. That way I'm farther away from any intruder that sneaks into the room. As if that's going to save me. Oddly enough it does not help save me from any child taking a midnight stroll. But I've learned to play dead so well that they now go to the husband's side. Score one for mom.
ReplyDeleteMy wife has this same intruder theory.
DeleteMy husband had the same intruder theory, so he slept closer to the door when we first lived together. That was, until I realized, that he slept so soundly that the intruder could have had his way with me and deapatated me, and my husband would have slept through the entire event. I would try hand grenades to see if that might wake him, but after 17 years of it, why bother. The kid/dog/aging parent all come to me first anyway, I could be on a trip to the other coast, they'd call me or seek me out before they'd hit him up for anything in the middle of the night.
DeleteI sleep on the side closest to the bathroom - at home, at the hotel, wherever. I pee a lot. Always. And I'm not in the "elderly" category yet, either. It's always been this way. I blame my dad - his bladder is also the size of an almond. Maybe.
ReplyDeleteWe have a sleep number bed (45, in case you're wondering) so I guess we COULD switch sides and yet, the mattress SHOULD stay the same as long as we use our own number. I don't even know what his number is - in my defense, he switches it up all of the time.
I am very territorial over which side of the bed I sleep on. I'm always on the right side.
ReplyDeleteHilarious post. The left side rules. I ALWAYS sleep on the left side no matter where we are. It has something to do with how the earth is tilted on its axis. ;) I'm with rmbulla - I have to have my feet out a little or else I'll suffocate. Lol.
ReplyDeleteI have tried to make the switch many times but I think my husband secretly likes his side because the kids reach me first when they need something. I may have to just try your method.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the left side of the bed, but take up the whole bed as the proper lady. We tried switching sides one night and that was it. I think maybe we just need a king sized bed or separate beds old school style.
ReplyDeleteThis is so funny. I've been married 17 years and just like you, we have always slept on the same side of the bed wherever we are. Now you've got me thinking about the big switch. Might have to try it!
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I have been married for over 20 years and we haven't made the switch. Mostly cause I wouldn't be allowed to but I also own the left side of the bed so it's all good.
ReplyDeleteI'm living for the day when one of my kids moves out and I can have a bed to myself. My BFF thinks that this will start the slow demise of our marriage but I think the freedom to sleep in a room with no snoring can only help things.
ReplyDeleteDH's side of the bed is teh Whole Damn Bed. :) I swear I had more room when then kids slept with us.
ReplyDeleteMy first year of marriage i slept on the right (if you're standing and looking at the bed) but don't like to sleep facing someone (don't be breathing in my face!) so that meant i slept on my left shoulder...every night. Now that shoulder still bothers me if i lay on it too long so at some point that first year, we had to SS. My right shoulder has been fine so this was def the way to go! Even stranger is that a year ago my back started bothering me and i decided it was our bed so i've been sleeping on the couch that long. Sounds terrible but i love it! I put a sheet on it at bedtime and during the night i hafta flip sides - the couch keeps me on either one side or the other all night so my back doesn't hurt. I also get to have control of the tv at bedtime this way and don't hafta listen to my husband snore! It's a win-win!
ReplyDeleteI sleep on the left side, as you stand at the foot and look at it. That's closer to the window where the cool breeze comes. Closer to any intruder, but my wife doesn't say that. Oh no.
ReplyDeleteFor years we allowed our cats to share the bed, particularly one huge orange cat. I always said my wife was very fair about dividing up the bed space. She only took half. The middle half. The big cat took much of what was left. I was left with a small fraction of the king sized bed, and typically few of the blankets. Wrestling with the cat was only marginally successful. As far as reclaim bed space or blankets, wrestling with my wife was not at all successful.
Switching now would only get me messed up. Same sides on vacation.
We were just talking about this yesterday I swear, were you in our bedroom?!? We always sleep on the same sides, everywhere we go but my parents house for some reason. If you asked him though he would say I sleep in the middle AND the left side ( if you're looking at the bed, that is how I've always labeled it).
ReplyDeleteAs a single person, I have a new strategy. I sleep on one side of the bed until it's time to change the sheets and then I move to the other side. This saves on laundry, although I do change the pillow cases when I change sides of the bed! I don't seem to have a preference, sleep is just as elusive on sides of the bed.
ReplyDeleteDawn always sleep colsest to the toilet, so it doesn't matter if it's left or right!!!
ReplyDeleteBut which side is the left side? Left when looking at the bed or laying in it? Now I have to know!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSomeone mentioned somewhere that the sleep number bed people designate the side of the bed based on the person standing and looking at the bed. Are they the experts?
DeleteHahahahaha...this is AWESOME! I am a right side sleeper, doesn't matter where we go, I always end up on the right.
ReplyDeleteHubby refuses to switch so when he's away on business, I sleep on his side of the bed.
I'm a left side-sleeper and I'm definitely a positive thinker, workaholic-type who tackles stress head-on ...so, this must be true! :D
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting.
ReplyDeleteI sleep on the left side of the bed when you are laying in the bed and I think that is how you have to approach it. When engineers and architects discuss plans they talk about it as if they are in the building (I am making that up but who cares this is my comment.)
Interestingly though when we go to a hotel I sleep on the side away from the night stand because Karen needs to know that her iPhone is charging and I don't give a shit so that is how we operate.
I have spooned you in that bed. I was on the right side. It was fine.
ReplyDeleteAnd that post-spoon cigarette we shared on the left side was delightful.
DeleteMy hubby has a side of the bed, so now I do too, of course
ReplyDelete. But before we married my side was the middle! Whenever he goes on a trip, I go back to the middle!
When standing at the foot of the bed, looking at the pillows, my side is the right side. Even if I sleep alone and start on the other side, I will always wake up on "my" side of the bed.
ReplyDeleteAt least my side of the bed is better. I know it is because sometimes I catch the fiance on my side...drooling on my pillow.
We both run marathons, but he sleeps closest to el bano.
ReplyDeleteIf you're staring at the bed, I sleep on the right. I never get good sleep but if I switched sides then my husband would be snoring in my face. Gross. I'm hosed apparently!!
ReplyDeleteKnee: It is better yet? Try using the foam roller on your glutes, hamstring attachments (where they connect to your buttbone under your glutes), and your TFL (side of your him - not on the pointy-outy boney part). Sometimes knee pain can be from uneven shortening in your thighs or hips.
ReplyDeleteSo, I used to sleep on the right in the last house when master bedroom space was plentiful (damn house was enormous - 3054 sf). We moved to smaller digs closer to employment, and the left side has less space between the bed and the wall, so that became my side. So, yeah. Left side. Have not noticed a huge difference though!
ReplyDeleteYou are so relaxed!
ReplyDeleteNice post
ReplyDeleteOne of the most serious issues with advancement in America is the measure of protected innovation that is redirected to different countries without respect to exclusive property or regard for the R&D offices or the individual innovators that made it. I find a very good website for the best best pillow for side sleeper with neck and back pain. you can visit this site.
ReplyDelete