Your body language can reveal a lot about your personality and your thoughts. But you'll be surprised to know that your body is communicating even when you're asleep. "Most people spend six or more hours per day sleeping, so of course your sleeping position reveals a lot about you," Dr. David Greuner said.

你的肢体语言可以揭露出你的许多性格和想法。不过你可能会觉得惊讶，甚至在你睡着的时候，你的身体都在传递信息。“多数人每天会花6个小时或更多的时间睡觉，所以你的睡姿当然会透露出你的许多信息，”大卫•格鲁内尔博士说道。

Michelle Robin¹ adds that your sleeping position can also affect your health. "If you remain in a position for hours at that puts a kink in your neck, numbs² your arm, or hurts your hip, it takes a toll," she explains.

米歇尔•罗宾补充道，你的睡姿也会影响你的健康。“如果你在几个小时里始终保持同一个睡姿，而这个姿势会让你的脖子弯曲，手臂麻木，或是使臀部受损，这样就会严重影响你的健康，”她解释道。

The good news is that just as it's possible to use body language to convey trust and to enhance our interpersonal relationships, we can also work with our sleeping positions to get the maximum health benefits.

好消息是，就像我们可以用肢体语言传递信任、改善人际关系，我们也可以通过调整睡姿获得最大的健康效益。

1

Curl up like a baby?

像婴儿一样蜷缩着？

"Many people fall asleep in a side-laying fetal position because it offers them a sense of safety," says mattress³ designer, Susanne Flother. According to a survey, it happens to be the most common sleeping position.

“许多人像婴儿一样侧躺着入睡，因为这会给他们带来安全感，”床垫设计师苏珊娜•弗拉泽说道。一项调查显示，这恰好是最常见的一种睡姿。

"Those who favor the side-lying fetal position tend to be sensitive, but may project a tough exterior," reported Chris Idzikowski, PhD. Likewise, Dr. Idzikowski added, fetal sleepers⁴ tend to be quite personable, even if they come off as shy upon first meeting people.

克里斯•伊兹科瓦斯基博士指出，“喜欢像婴儿一样侧躺着睡觉的人往往比较敏感，不过他们也可能会有强硬的外表。”他还补充道，像婴儿一样蜷缩着睡觉的人往往也很平易近人，虽然在首次见面的人面前他们也会害羞。

2

Sleeping like a log?

像根木头似的躺着？

Sleeping like a "log" is the way Dr. Idzikowski describes lying on your side with your arms at your sides. If this is your favorite sleeping position, then you're probably easy-going, social, and relatively⁵ trusting of strangers. That said, you may also be a bit gullible⁶ .

睡觉的时候侧躺着且把手臂安置在一侧，伊兹科瓦斯基博士把这样的睡姿称为“像根木头似的”躺着。如果这是你最喜欢的睡姿，那么你可能是一个容易相处且好交际的人，而且你相对比较信任陌生人，也就是说，你可能也比较容易受骗。

3

Sleeping like a log but with arms that "yearn"?

像根木头似的躺着，但伸着手臂像“渴望着什么一般”？

This sleeping position is on your side like the log except your arms are reaching out in front of you, as if you were "yearning⁷" for something or someone.

这种睡姿就是，你像根木头似的侧躺着，只是你把手臂伸展着放在身前，好像你在“渴望着”某物或某人一样。

Like the log position, the yearning-log indicates an open nature, according to Dr. Idzikowski, with an added benefit: You're probably not as gullible. You're also probably slower to make up your mind, but once you do, you're less likely to change it.

伊兹科瓦斯基博士称，就像木头式睡姿一样，渴望式睡姿说明你性情开放，而且你还有一项额外的优点：那就是你可能不容易受骗。在做决定上，你可能要慢一些，不过一旦你下定决心，就不太可能会改变主意。

4

Taking side-sleeping to the next level

侧躺的升级版

Whether you lean toward fetal or logging, experts agree that your tendency to fall asleep on your side is a plus for your nighttime comfort. However chiropractic expert Dr. Robin recommends you try a variation to obtain an optimum night's rest and comfort during the day:

专家表示，不论你偏爱婴儿式睡姿还是木头式睡姿，倾向于侧躺着入睡都会使你在夜间感到舒适。不过脊椎按摩专家罗宾博士建议，你可以尝试着调整一下睡姿，这样可以使你在夜间得到充分的休息，而且白天也会感到舒适：

*Knees only slightly bent⁸

膝盖微曲

*Small pillow between the knees to keep the spine⁹ in a more favorable and stable alignment¹⁰

膝盖之间夹一个小枕头使脊椎保持一个最佳且最稳定的排列

*Hug a pillow between your arms

手臂之间抱着一个枕头

None of our experts offered an opinion as to what this position may mean about your personality; however, if you adopt it even for a night, it means you're open to learning from others.

对于这种睡姿可能会揭示的性格，没有专家给出任何意见，然而，如果你采用了这种睡姿，即使只有一晚，这也说明你愿意向别人学习。

5

But which side?

朝哪侧睡？

According to a survey, left-side sleeping is favored by those who work in marketing¹¹ and advertising¹², those between the ages of 45 and 54, and those who are degree-educated, whereas right-side sleeping is favored by those who work in transport and manufacturing, those between the ages of 35 and 44, and those who smoke and love caffeine.

一项调查指出，那些从事营销和广告类工作，年龄在45岁到54岁之间，且受过高等教育的人比较喜欢朝左侧睡；而那些从事运输及生产制造类工作，年龄在35岁到44岁之间，抽烟且喜欢喝咖啡的人，他们则比较喜欢朝右侧睡。

As for the relative benefits of each:

每一种睡姿的相对益处：

Left-side sleeping may improve heartburn symptoms, according to Michael Breus. "The reason for this is because when you sleep on your right side, the lower esophageal sphincter relaxes, allowing stomach acid to leak out, which can result in irritation," he explains.

迈克尔·布列乌斯指出，朝左侧睡可以改善胃灼热的症状。“这是因为当你朝右侧睡的时候，食道下括约肌放松使胃酸渗出，导致发炎，”他解释道。

Right-side sleeping may be better for your heart, for the simple reason that it does not add any gravitational pressure to the heart.

朝右侧睡可能对心脏更好一些，原因很简单，这不会给心脏增加任何重力压力。

6

Tummy time

趴着睡

Sleeping face down is far less popular than side-sleeping. According to a research, stomach-sleepers tend to work in agriculture, to be between the ages of 45 and 54, and to be heavy drinkers. According to Dr. Idzikowski, however, if your sleeping position of choice is face-down with your head turned to one side and your pillow grasped between your arms, you have a tendency to be gregarious¹³, and even at times brash but you really don't like to be criticized. And you do your best to avoid extreme situations.

趴着睡不如侧躺着睡受欢迎。一项研究指出，趴着睡的人往往从事农业，年龄在45岁到54岁之间，且喜欢喝酒。伊兹科瓦斯基博士表示，如果你选择趴着睡，且头部转向一侧，枕头夹在手臂之间，你往往喜欢交际，甚至有时候会自以为是，但你真的不喜欢被指责，不过你会尽力避免极端的情况。

7

On the back track?

仰卧着睡？

People who sleep flat on their back tend to work in transport and logistics. And they're also most likely to wake up feeling "refreshed." But maybe that's because back-sleepers tend to be a young group, in general, with most of them being between the ages of 25 and 34, which is the best age for sleeping soundly through the night. In addition, snoring is associated with back-sleeping, according to Dr. Greuner, which means that although you may be waking up refreshed, your partner won't be. However, this can be alleviated¹⁴ by sleeping on your side.

仰卧着睡的人往往从事运输和物流类工作，而且他们起床的时候，最有可能会觉得“神清气爽”。不过这也许是因为仰卧着睡的人往往都是年轻人，且他们中的大多数人通常年龄都在25岁到34岁之间，而这是整晚都可以睡得香的最佳年龄段。另外，格鲁内尔博士表示，打鼾也与仰卧着睡有关，这意味着虽然你起床的时候可能觉得神清气爽，但你的伴侣却不会。不过你可以侧着睡来减轻打鼾的症状。

8

Freestyler?

自由式睡姿？

"Freestyle" sleepers tend to work in utilities and are typically between the ages of 35 and 44. Mattress designer, Flother, thinks that everyone's a bit of a freestyler. "We're all much more active at night than we think we are," she says. "We naturally move 50 to 80 times every single night, and all that so-called tossing and turning is actually a good thing." Nighttime movement keeps the muscles supple¹⁵, and helps distribute nutrients¹⁶ and hormones¹⁷ to all parts of the body."

睡姿自由的人往往从事于公共事业，年龄通常在35岁到44岁之间。床垫设计师弗拉泽认为，每个人的睡姿都会有些许自由。“在夜间，我们都比自己所认为的要活跃得多，”她说道。“我们本来每天晚上就会挪动50到80次，而这些所谓的辗转反侧实际上都是有益的。”夜间活动可以使肌肉保持柔韧，还有助于把营养物质和激素输送到全身各个部位。