Lifestyle

It’s official: You really can get out of bed on the wrong side

Feeling grumpy this morning? You may actually have got out of the wrong side of the bed, a new study has found.

A poll of 2,000 adults found those who get out on the right side of the bed are more likely to wake up feeling tired and grumpy than those who get out of bed on the left.

People who get out of bed to the right also take longer to shift their bad mood and are more likely to see their work affected by their tiredness.

The survey also found nine in ten Brits wake up still feeling tired on three mornings a week, with the average adult saying it’s almost 10am before they start to feel properly awake.

Having a bad night’s sleep is the most common cause of morning grumpiness followed by stress, waking up earlier than you need to and wet or cold weather.

A spokesman for iron supplement Spatone, which commissioned the research, said: “When you are obviously tired and grumpy, one of the first things people will ask you is whether you got out of bed on the wrong side.

“And while we would usually just laugh back, it seems it really can be the case, with the right-hand side the worst to get out of if you want to feel happy and ready for the day ahead.

“There is nothing more frustrating than waking up in the morning still feeling tired and this can go on to have a real effect on your mood for the first few hours and even the rest of the day.

“Not only can tiredness leave you feeling less than happy, it can also bring the people around you down if your mood is more grumpy than raring to go.”

Top ten reasons for feeling tired and grumpy in the morning

  1. Having a bad night’s sleep
  2. Stress
  3. Waking up earlier than you needed to
  4. Wet or cold weather
  5. Waking up still tired
  6. Not wanting to go to work
  7. Knowing you have a busy or difficult day ahead
  8. Waking up thinking it’s Friday and realise it’s not
  9. Sleeping through your alarm/your alarm not going off
  10. A bad journey to work
Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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