What is meant by the left side of the bed?

[Amethyst]

If someone says they sleep on the left side of the bed, how do you envision that?

Does it mean you are standing at the foot of the bed and the left side is it?

Or does it mean you are lying in the bed looking up at the ceiling, and the left side that way?

 

[Ottakee]

I go by standing at the foot of the bed…..but no idea if that is the right way or not

[Arcadia]

I go by where the headboard usually is. So left to me would be left of the headboard. 

[Arctic Bunny]

If I were to say DH sleeps on the left side of the bed, I mean he sleeps on my left, when we are on our backs in bed. 

Edited December 14, 2022 by Arctic Bunny

[El...]

23 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

If someone says they sleep on the left side of the bed, how do you envision that?

Does it mean you are standing at the foot of the bed and the left side is it?

Or does it mean you are lying in the bed looking up at the ceiling, and the left side that way?

 

Intensely controversial! 😄

 I think it means you're on the left, when lying down looking up. 

[Amethyst]

17 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

I go by where the headboard usually is. So left to me would be left of the headboard. 

Wait. So, you’re LOOKING at the headboard, or the headboard is above your head while lying down?

[Slache]

When you're in the bed, obviously!

[Arcadia]

18 minutes ago, Arctic Bunny said:

If I were to say DH sleeps on the left side of the bed, I mean he sleeps on my left, when we are laying on our backs in bed. 

 

1 minute ago, Amethyst said:

Wait. So, you’re LOOKING at the headboard, or the headboard is above your head while lying down?

What Arctic Bunny said.

[Robin M]

It would be the head of the bed, where you lay your head, so lying down. I sleep on the left side of the bed. 

[rebcoola]

When your looking at the bed is what I've always understood.

[YaelAldrich]

This is going to be the newest kerfuffle! Much like the cupcake wars and the shipping carts of old! 

[Amethyst]

11 minutes ago, rebcoola said:

When your looking at the bed is what I've always understood.

This is the way I look at it. But dh, and both dd think of it as when lying on their backs. When I explained to dd25 that I view it from the foot of the bed, she said “it figures! That’s cuz you’re organized!”  Lol. What’s the connection there, I don’t know!!

[Loowit]

I think of it as you are looking at the bed from the foot of the bed, but I get my left and right mixed up all the time, so if I say left or right it doesn't mean much to my family because they wouldn't be sure what I meant for sure anyway. 

[fraidycat]

I don't think I've ever said "left side" of the bed, but if I did, I would qualify what I meant with an explanation of what left means to me - at this point, I don't have a preference as to which one is "correct".
 

If I need to describe a particular bed or side of a bed, I describe it in relation to the room it's in (by the window, by the closet, etc.) or "my side" vs. DH's side, etc.

[Amethyst]

43 minutes ago, fraidycat said:

I don't think I've ever said "left side" of the bed, but if I did, I would qualify what I meant with an explanation of what left means to me - at this point, I don't have a preference as to which one is "correct".
 

If I need to describe a particular bed or side of a bed, I describe it in relation to the room it's in (by the window, by the closet, etc.) or "my side" vs. DH's side, etc.

I agree with this. I usually say MY side of the bed or something like that. I was just reading a book that used the expression “left side of the bed” and I had a hard time picturing it. 

[marbel]

I believe it would be the left side when I am facing the end of the bed. I sleep on the right side; my husband  sleeps next to me on my left, so he's on the left side of the bed.

He disagreed and said that it would be looking at the bed from the end/footboard (if we had a footboard). So to him, I sleep on the left. 

So there ya go. 

[LifeLovePassion]

I would say left when standing at the foot of the bed. 

[Spy Car]

Here's the test.

If you accidently rolled out of bed, the arm that isn't at risk of breakage defines the side you are on.

Isn't that easy?  

Bill (<--a man who has lived a little)

 

[EKS]

The left side of the bed would be the side on your left if you were lying on your back in the center of the bed with your head at the head.

Edited December 13, 2022 by EKS

[Lady Florida.]

As a lefty I go by the head of the bed, so lying in bed looking at the ceiling. That means my night stand, lamp, anything I want to reach is accessible with my left hand.

ETA: I've always called the side I sleep on the left side and I always slept on that side even when I was single. When dh and I first became a serious couple I made sure he knew "I sleep on the left side of the bed." It was non negotiable. 🙂

Edited December 13, 2022 by Lady Florida.

[Scarlett]

What needs to happen is add a clarifying word. Left side facing (LSF).  That is how it is done in the furniture manufacturing industry. 

[sassenach]

This deserves a pole

[Tap]

27 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

What needs to happen is add a clarifying word. Left side facing (LSF).  That is how it is done in the furniture manufacturing industry. 

Left side if you are facing the bed from the footboard looking to the headboard

or

Left side if you are facing the bed from the headboard looking to the footboard

🤪

 

 

 LOL 

[Tap]

For me, the left side is ....if I am laying in bed looking at the ceiling

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

As a lefty I go by the head of the bed, so lying in bed looking at the ceiling. That means my night stand, lamp, anything I want to reach is accessible with my left hand.

ETA: I've always called the side I sleep on the left side and I always slept on that side even when I was single. When dh and I first became a serious couple I made sure he knew "I sleep on the left side of the bed." It was non negotiable. 🙂

My dh is a lefty and I am RH, so that’s how we sleep too. When we were traveling recently, I took a position on the left (because I wanted to be next to the window), but I realized how awkward it is in this arrangement. Neither of us have our dominent hand “free”. 

[mom31257]

The side when you are lying in the bed. The left is the side I sleep on. I like to turn on my left side and face out of the bed. I can't turn on my right side much without getting a slight vertigo feeling, and I can't stand facing the inside of the bed. 

[Scarlett]

7 hours ago, Tap said:

Left side if you are facing the bed from the footboard looking to the headboard

or

Left side if you are facing the bed from the headboard looking to the footboard

🤪

 

 

 LOL 

In furniture industry terms one would never be discussing a view from being in the bed…..so definitely standing at the foot and facing the bed,  

[EKS]

I've actually tried to find some definitive definition online and have failed.

[Familia]

‘Viewers from looking up the bed from the footboard’ unite!

[Spy Car]

9 hours ago, sassenach said:

This deserves a pole

[Miss Tick]

Standing at the foot of the bed. I want to be clear which side I'm going to be on before I start unpacking all my bedside stuff. It has to be clarified right when we walk into the hotel room. I can't wait until I'm already lying in bed, I'm too old and there is too much stuff to move from one nightstand to the other if I do it wrong.

[73349]

Maybe it should be port and starboard! 😁

[Amethyst]

12 hours ago, Spy Car said:

Here's the test.

If you accidently rolled out of bed, the arm that isn't at risk of breakage defines the side you are on.

Isn't that easy?  

Bill (<--a man who has lived a little)

 

Yes, but how much rolling is involved? If I'm right next to the edge, I just go straight down. But if I'm towards the middle and really get rolling before I fall out of bed, I might damage the other arm! This method has been disqualified for complexity! LOL. 

[Amethyst]

2 hours ago, EKS said:

I've actually tried to find some definitive definition online and have failed.

It's up to us!!!

[kbutton]

13 hours ago, EKS said:

The left side of the bed would be the side on your left if you were lying on your back in the center of the bed with your head at the head.

This is how our Sleep Number remote works. 🙂 

[Miss Tick]

1 minute ago, kbutton said:

This is how our Sleep Number remote works. 🙂 

Too bad, @Familia and I will have to start a letter writing campaign to get them to correct their reference frame.

[ikslo]

18 minutes ago, kbutton said:

This is how our Sleep Number remote works. 🙂 

For as much as those beds cost, you’d think they would have gotten it correct! 🙄

[ikslo]

12 hours ago, sassenach said:

This deserves a pole

So now we’re putting poles in the bedroom? Risqué!

[sassenach]

Just now, ikslo said:

So now we’re putting poles in the bedroom? Risqué!

OMG I just realized my mistake, lol. This deserves both a pole and a poll.

[ikslo]

3 hours ago, Spy Car said:

Well played!

[Spy Car]

2 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Yes, but how much rolling is involved? If I'm right next to the edge, I just go straight down. But if I'm towards the middle and really get rolling before I fall out of bed, I might damage the other arm! This method has been disqualified for complexity! LOL. 

If one is having that much fun in bed, the rest hardy matters  

Bill

[Junie]

Sigh.  It should be "from the perspective of lying on your back".  

[Lady Florida.]

1 hour ago, kbutton said:

This is how our Sleep Number remote works. 🙂 

Yes, we also have a sleep number bed. I'm so glad they got it right. 🤩

[rebcoola]

19 hours ago, Amethyst said:

This is the way I look at it. But dh, and both dd think of it as when lying on their backs. When I explained to dd25 that I view it from the foot of the bed, she said “it figures! That’s cuz you’re organized!”  Lol. What’s the connection there, I don’t know!!

Well I am so not organized so that can't be why.  

The only time I can remember referring to sides of the bed is like in a hotel room and saying I will take the left side. 

[Matryoshka]

6 hours ago, 73349 said:

Maybe it should be port and starboard! 😁

LOL, you still need a reference point!  It still confuses me when I'm rowing and port is right and starboard is left, because those are consistent based on the direction the boat is moving in, and when you're rowing, you're going backwards!  So, my right is the boat's left (port), and vice versa...

For beds, my vote is referenced on lying on your back, head on pillow.  That's where I spend my time interacting with the bed!  I spend no time staring at the bed from the footboard, so that perspective to me is ... odd.

[KungFuPanda]

I think it’s the sleeper’s perspective while in bed. 

[Melissa Louise]

It's the left hand side as you're lying in the bed. 

 

[Tiberia]

This is my first time checking on this thread. I was wondering why it kept growing.

Now I know.😘 You guys are too funny!

[Amethyst]

6 hours ago, kbutton said:

This is how our Sleep Number remote works. 🙂 

See, I can’t take this at all seriously because it says “laying on your back”. If they don’t know grammar, how am I to trust them with left and right?? 

[Amethyst]

1 hour ago, Matryoshka said:

 

For beds, my vote is referenced on lying on your back, head on pillow.  That's where I spend my time interacting with the bed!  I spend no time staring at the bed from the footboard, so that perspective to me is ... odd.

But when you walk in the room, or someone else’s room, or a character in a book walks in a room, the pillow has nothing to do with it. I’m sticking with footboard perspective.