DR. WALLACE: I'm a 13-year-old girl and enjoy sleeping on my stomach. It's the most comfortable position for me, and I seem to fall asleep pretty fast lying on my stomach. I've tried sleeping on my side and back, but I don't find those positions comfortable at all.

My aunt lives with my family and occasionally sleeps in my room. Last night, she slept in my room. This morning, she said that young girls should never sleep on their stomachs because it will cause them to be flat-chested. Is this true?

To be honest, I'm not thinking at all about that; I just like to get a good night's sleep. I kind of think my aunt does not know what she's talking about because her comment sounded like an old wives' tale to me! I think we all move around a lot when we sleep anyhow, so how we first fall asleep should not matter too much. What do you think about my aunt's comment? I'd like to tell my aunt that she's wrong, but I'm too nice and too shy to push back at her about this. — Nice Niece, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

NICE NIECE: Your instincts were correct. Mother Nature determines your body shape, not your sleeping positions! According to the Sleep Disorder Center at Johns Hopkins University, many people sleep on their side, but some sleep on their backs, and a few prefer to sleep on their stomachs. The Sleep Disorder Center reports that the correct sleeping position is whatever works best for each individual to promote comfortable and rejuvenating sleep.

For you, it's sleeping on your stomach. Keep sleeping away without fear! I do commend you for your restraint in challenging your aunt over her obviously uninformed comment. You are a nice niece indeed!

TWO AT ONCE IS HIS PROBLEM

DR. WALLACE: I'm a freshman attending the University of California at Berkeley, and I'm also in my first year away from home and from my girlfriend. We have been dating for over year, and I love her very much. My problem is that I met a very interesting girl in my English literature class. We have had several "study" dates and have gone to a movie together several times.

Last week, we were studying together in the library when she suddenly looked up at me and said, "I love you," and before I could think straight, I blurted out, "I love you, too." Now I've got a big problem! I think I really do love my girlfriend, but I think I might also love this new girl, too. I don't think I could choose one over the other one if I had to, and neither girl knows about the other one. I'm usually a pretty reliable and respectable guy who does not cause trouble, but I am at a loss here as to what I should do next. Help! — Two Loves for One Lucky Guy, Southside Berkley, California

TWO LOVES: Contact your girlfriend back home right away, and tell her that you would like to date a girl on campus and that it would be best if each of you dated others while you are in college. You can also tell her that when you return home for the holidays and over the summer, you both can still enjoy dating each other if you choose to do so. Then explain to the new girl that you have been dating someone back home, but you have agreed to both date others while you are in college. Forget the "I love you" bit for now. Enjoy dating and being a teen, and lay off the heavy romantic stuff for now. There's plenty of time for that when you are sure that a girl is truly your one and only. For now, this new girl is a promising study partner that you might enjoy spending more time with in the future. I doubt that either one of you is in love with the other, but there's no harm in enjoying each other's company and seeing where this particular relationship goes.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Foundry at Pixabay