Whatever position it is you find yourself in when you're asleep can say a lot about who you are when you're awake, according to British sleep expert Chris Idzikowski.

By comparing personality traits of people, their preferred way of sleeping and the most common positions, Idzikowski has identified six common sleep positions and what they mean about personality, according to a KXAS-TV report.

The study found that more people sleep crouched in a fetal position than any other pattern, including 51 percent of women, according to a report.

Idzikowski said fetal sleepers tend to be shy and sensitive.

People who sleep in a soldier position where they are flat on their back with their arms at their sides are quiet and reserved.

If you sleep on your side with your legs outstretched and arms down, you likely have a social, easy-going personality, but if you stretch your arms out, you tend to be more suspicious, the expert says.

The most unusual position is where the sleeper lies flat on their tummy with their hands at the sides of their head. The 6.5 percent of people who prefer it are usually brash and gregarious, according to the study.

Those who sleep on their backs with their arms and legs outstretched are usually unassuming, good listeners.

Idzikowski said once a person adopts a sleeping position, they rarely change it.

Idzikowski is the director of the Sleep Assessment and Advisory Service and a visiting professor at the University of Surrey in southern England.