People Who Sleep On Their Left Side Usually Have To Deal With One Odd Side Effect, Says Science
MAYA LAB | Shutterstock Back sleeper, stomach sleeper, or side sleeper? We all have our preferences, but when it comes to having the most memorable dreams, people who sleep on their left side are outdoing the rest of us, according to science.
Studies have shown that people who sleep on their left side have the wildest and most vivid dreams, and they're more likely to be the kind you DON'T want to be having, too.
People who sleep on their left side have the most wild and memorable dreams, according to studies.
There are tons of guidelines that supposedly determine what sort of night's sleep you'll have. For ages, we've been told that going to bed with a full stomach will give you nightmares, or that eating cheese or chocolate before bed makes you more likely to lucid dream or sleepwalk. Canadian TikToker Celina Myers has quite famously documented her own cheese-induced (and hilarious) somnambulism, for example.
But a handful of studies have shown that sleep position just might have more impact than any other factor. And when it comes to side sleepers, one study from 2004 found left-siders are having one heck of a time in the dreamscape compared to the rest of us.
Left-side sleepers had more nightmares and far stranger dreams than other sleep positions.
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The 2004 study focused on 63 subjects who were asked to sleep only on their right or left side and then given an extensive questionnaire about sleep quality, their dreams, what they remembered from them, and how they felt upon waking.
Far and away, the left-siders were more likely to have had nightmares, with nearly 41% reporting disturbing dreams, compared to just under 15% of those who slept on their right side. Right-siders, on the other hand, didn't sleep as well overall. But their dreams were vastly more pleasant, centering on feelings of safety or relief.
Of course, 63 is a pretty tiny sample size, and all the data involved was self-reported, which limits the reliability of the study. Still, scientists believe it indicates that sleep position does, in fact, have an impact on brain function while sleeping.
Other studies have found that belly sleepers have more nightmares, too.
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You know those people who say they've been abducted by aliens? They might have been stomach sleepers. In 2012, researchers at Hong Shue Yan University in Hong Kong looked into the effects of sleep positions on dreams and found that belly sleepers had the strangest dreams.
Their study was much more far-reaching than the 2004 one, focusing on 670 subjects, and the face-down subjects were, quite frankly, going nuts in their sleep. For starters, they were more likely to have terrifying dreams about being suffocated or unable to breathe, being locked up, tied up, or confined, or being unable to move.
But they were also more likely to have dreams about UFOs (are they alien abductors targeting stomach-sleepers?) and they were also likely to have dreams about, uh, adult themes, if you will, including having relations with a celebrity, or, and I swear I'm not making this up, "a big wheel."
The study does not appear to address why multiple persons are dreaming about being in flagrante with children's bicycles in the first place, which is, quite frankly, among the greatest scientific oversights of our time. Forget the aliens, why is nobody asking about this?! Anyway, there you have it: If foot-powered machinery is what gets you going, sleep on your stomach. You're welcome?
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
