Man reveals he and his partner ‘don’t sleep on the same side of the bed each night’ - Twitter debate erupts

‘I know what all these words mean but cannot make sense of how you have put them together’

A Twitter user has sparked an intense debate on social media after innocently revealing he and his partner regularly switch which side of the bed they sleep on.

On Friday, journalist Steve O’Rourke asked his followers whether it’s normal to sleep on one designated side of the bed every night.

O’Rourke revealed he and his partner change sides depending on who gets into bed first and which direction they want to face.

“We were just chatting in work and apparently it's weird that Amy and I don't sleep on the same side of the bed every night,” O’Rouke tweeted.

“Some nights I like to sleep by the window, some nights the door. It's not really that unusual, is it?”

In a subsequent post, the social media user noted that the choice of which side of the bed he and his partner sleep on depends on several factors and that they don’t disagree on the decision.

The post has since received over 549 retweets and 3,000 “likes”, with several of the journalist’s followers expressing their outrage at learning his sleeping habits.

“I know what all these words mean but cannot make sense of how you have put them together,” commented one user on the post.

Another added: “How have you found someone else to share a bed with who is also happy with these shenanigans?? The only reason I’m still with my husband is because I fear a future partner might want my side of the bed.”

One user went as far as to say: “That's extremely f**king weird, actually.”

However, several other Twitter users revealed they also regularly switched the side of the bed on which they sleep on with their partners.

“Hello!! My husband and I do this too!! Don't let the haters bring you down. After sleeping on one side of the bed for a bunch of nights in a row, the first night on the other side feels so good and you get the best sleep,” added one like-minded individual.

Another tweeted: “I think it’s weird but we do it too! Our bed has a wall side so we change based upon who needs to wake up earliest.”

The journalist later pointed out that he and his partner swap pillows every time they change sides and that they have slept in this fashion for more than 20 years.

O’Rourke concluded the debate to tell his followers that he was going to bed and intended to sleep on a different side to the previous night.

“Off to bed now. Different side to last night, not to make a point, but just because I wanted to. Honestly, try it, and I promise the world won't end,” he tweeted.

A study of 1,000 UK adults in 2015 found that individuals who sleep on the left side of the bed were found to have more friends and enjoy their job by a margin of between four and 10 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, those who opted for the right admitted to preferring their own company, being pessimistic, and generally being in a bad mood in the morning by a similarly small margin.

The study, conducted by bed manufacturer Sealy UK, also revealed that 36 per cent of couples prefer to sleep alone, with almost half attempting to escape snoring, and a fifth simply admitting they prefer to have the bed to themselves.