Britain’s 10 Most Annoying Types to Share a Bed With

Bed retailer Dreams commissioned a survey of 2,000 couples and 57% agreed that the Snorer is the most irritating bed fellow. Almost half (45%) complained of sleeping with a Duvet Thief, frequently waking up to find they’ve been stripped of any bedding.

Next on the list were the Face Breather, who lies too close to your face and breathes on it (35%), and the 3am Phone Checker who wakes you with blue light from their device (30%).

The survey also revealed that a quarter of Brits wake to find a Starfish spreading out their arms and legs, while 24% get disturbed by a Throat Clearer coughing and clearing their throat all night.

Other annoying sleeping partners identified by the research include the Flailer, who thrashes their arms around in their sleep (15%), the Arm Number, who lies on your arm, making it feel numb (10%) and the Spooner, who wants to ‘spoon’ and cuddle you in their sleep (10%).

In fact, us Brits can get so annoyed with the person we’re sharing a bed with that half of us have slept in the spare room or on the sofa, in pursuit of a good night’s rest. 80% of those polled said that having a bigger bed would help their current sleeping situation, but 12% cited being unable to sleep well together as a factor in breaking off a relationship.

If any of these findings sound familiar, you won’t be surprised that a quarter of those surveyed said they wake in the night because they don’t feel ‘in sync’ with their partners’ sleeping positions. Dreams has responded to this by collaborating with TV judge Craig Revel-Horwood and sleep expert Sammy Margo, to create a sleep guide. It helps Brits ‘sync’ their way to a better night’s sleep with dance-inspired sleep positions.

Craig Revel-Horwood said: “This research shows just how many of us are kept awake at night because our other half has two left feet. Just like dance, there’s no doubt that sleeping is an art form, and of course participating in some exercise, such as dancing, can really help to tire you out and get a better night’s sleep.

“We’ve all experienced uncoordinated sleep partners and so, I’m hoping my dance-inspired sleep positions will help to inspire the nation to sleep better. Who wouldn’t want to wake up refreshed the next day and improve their performance!?”

Sleep expert Sammy Margo added: “We spend a third of our lives in bed, so compatibility with your sleeping partner and your sleeping position are both really important in influencing the quantity and quality of our sleep. For example, studies have shown that sleeping on your left side is good for digestion, whilst right-side sleepers experience more positive dreams and sleeping next to a ‘Phone Checker’ will disrupt your circadian rhythm.

“The Sleep Like Log guide will provide readers with a range of tips for a better night’s sleep, as well as some fun, light-hearted sleeping positions to try at home.”

Get more tips for couples in our article on sleeping better with separate bedding and find out about the effects of lack of sleep on relationships.

The research data: A survey of 2,000 couples (surveyed 9^{th –} 12^th November 2021), aged 16+ – 60+ year olds, nationally representative by age, gender and region.