The other day after golf, one of the guys was complaining\u2026. about everything, it seemed. One of the group said, \u201cBoy, you must have got up on the wrong side of the bed today.\u201d Well, that got me to thinking\u2026. I\u2019d heard that phrase used to describe someone that\u2019s grumpy, or unhappy, fairly often over the years. If you get up rested, happy and ready to tackle the day, then you must have got up on the right side of the bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I sleep on the left side of the bed \u2014 every night, and I get up on the left side of the bed every day. So how can it be the right side one day but the wrong side on another day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sayings like these, whose meanings aren\u2019t clear from the words themselves, are called idioms. I\u2019ve talked about idioms on this blog many times. My extensive research discovered, not surprisingly, that there is no clear explanation as to how the idiom \u201cgetting up on the wrong side of the bed\u201d came about. But, like most of these things, there are a few theories \u2014 for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One theory claimed the saying came about as the result of an old superstition that it was unlucky to get out of bed with your left leg first. This superstition appears to have started in Ancient Rome, where many Romans were careful to always get out of bed on the right side. This fit with other superstitions of the time that the \u201cleft\u201d side was unlucky. Some people, including Augustus Caesar, believed that it was bad luck to put on your left shoe first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others believed that this and other idioms that contain the phrase \u201cthe wrong side,\u201d merely reflect the fact that there are positive and negative aspects of any situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ancient Egyptians believed that good and bad spirits lived among earthlings. They believed that the \u201cleft side\u201d belonged to the forces of death and destruction. Hence, if you woke up on the left side of the bed, you were most likely possessed by evil spirits and you were probably going to do bad things during the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These beliefs have taken root so deeply in the collective mind of mankind that even today some of the hotels in various parts of the world face the left sides of the beds in their rooms to the wall to prevent customers from waking up on the wrong side. But of course, someone always has to be different\u2026 in this case, it\u2019s the Chinese. The left side belief is reversed in ancient Chinese tradition. Feng shui experts believe that it\u2019s best to get out of bed on the left side. The left side is associated with money, power and health \u2014 getting out on the right side will being death and despair.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So \u201a is it possible that there\u2019s actually a right and a wrong side of the bed? Some people think there is.\u00a0
(Some) sleep scientists rely on psychology to conclude that the left side of the bed is right and the right side of the bed is wrong. They know that the left side of the brain controls logic and rational thought, while the right side of the brain controls emotion and imagination. If you get out of bed on the left side, they believe that you may focus your energy on logic and stay away from volatile emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what do you think? Is there a right and wrong side of the bed? I\u2019m not sure, but no matter which side you get up on, Claire has the solution \u2014 she says, \u201cEvery day when I wake up I can be happy or unhappy. I choose happy!\u201d
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The other day after golf, one of the guys was complaining\u2026. about everything, it seemed. One of the group said, \u201cBoy, you must have got up on the wrong side of the bed today.\u201d Well, that got me to thinking\u2026. … Continue reading