Happiest couples 'are tight'

17 April 2014 - 09:13 By The Daily Telegraph
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It is possible to tell how happy a couple are together by measuring the distance between them when they sleep, scientists have found.

Partners who slept less than 3cm apart were more likely to be content with their relationship than those maintaining a gap wider than 76cm, a study concluded.

In addition, more couples who made physical contact through the night were happier than those with a "no touching" rule while trying to sleep.

The survey of 1000 people was conducted as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

Twelve percent of couples spent the night less than 3cm apart and just 2% were separated by more than 76cm.

Professor Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire who led the study, said: "One of the most important differences involved touching. Ninety-four percent of couples who spent the night in contact with one another were happy with their relationship, compared to just 68% of those that didn't touch.

"This is the first survey to examine couples' sleeping positions, and the results allow people to gain an insight into someone's personality and relationship by simply asking them about their favourite sleeping position."

The study found that 86% of couples who slept less than 3cm away from each other claimed to be happy with their relationship compared with 66% who slept more than 76cm apart.

Extroverts tended to spend the night close to their partners, and more creative individuals were more likely to sleep on their left hand side.

Professor Wiseman, the author of Night School, which examines the science of sleep and dreaming, agreed other factors came into play. He said a partner's snoring could have a bearing on how close couples slept to each other and some individuals needed to face away from their partner because they could not tolerate someone breathing on them.

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