Sharing a Bed With Your Dog May Not Hurt Your Sleep After All

If your dog sleeps in your bed, you've probably blamed them for a restless night at least once. Maybe they stretched out across your pillow or decided that your side of the mattress looked more comfortable than theirs.

Well, your dog might have a few complaints of their own. A new study suggests that sharing a bed with your dog might not be as disruptive to your sleep as you think. In fact, you might be the one disturbing them.

Who's Really Waking Whom?

Researchers from the University of Toronto and Duke University wanted to find out what happens when people and their dogs settle down for the night.

In the study published in PLOS One, they followed 25 adults and 38 dogs in Canada. The humans wore activity monitors on their wrists, while their dogs wore similar devices on their collars. Researchers collected movement data over about four weeks to see how their nighttime activity compared.

And the results might surprise anyone who's ever accused their dog of stealing a good night's sleep.

Your Dog Might Not Be Ruining Your Sleep

Researchers found that allowing a dog to sleep in the bed wasn't associated with shorter sleep or poorer sleep efficiency. In other words, people who shared their beds with their dogs didn't show measurable differences in those sleep measures, compared to participants whose dogs slept elsewhere.

But, the researchers did discover something interesting about who moved first throughout the night. Among the human-dog pairs whose movements showed a detectable pattern:

• In about 45% of pairs, the human moved before the dog.

• In about 18%, the dog moved before the human.

• In about 36%, their movements happened within the same minute.

So, while we might assume the dog is responsible for all that nighttime commotion, the humans were more often the first to stir. Of course, movement doesn't necessarily mean someone woke up. But, it does suggest that our sleeping habits influence our dogs, too.

What If You Have More Than One Dog?

Here's where things get a little more complicated. People with multiple dogs had poorer sleep quality than those with just one. Interestingly, that difference didn't show up in the researchers' objective sleep measurements.

So, while people with several dogs thought they were sleeping worse, their activity monitors didn't reveal a corresponding difference in sleep duration or efficiency.

The study was small, involving only huskies and malamutes, so researchers say larger studies involving different breeds are needed. And, because all of the participants owned dogs, the researchers couldn't compare their sleep with people who didn't have pets.

Should You Let Your Dog Sleep in Your Bed?

There's no need to evict your furry friend based on this study. If you're sleeping comfortably and your dog enjoys curling up beside you, the findings offer little reason to change that arrangement.

On the other hand, if you're constantly waking up because your dog has claimed the entire mattress, a separate dog bed might be worth trying. The important thing is finding a sleeping arrangement that works for both of you.

Maybe We Owe Our Dogs an Apology

For years, we've joked about dogs hogging the covers and leaving us with six inches of the mattress. But, this research offers an amusing possibility: our dogs might be putting up with just as much nighttime disruption as we are.

So, the next time your dog gives you a sleepy look after you've rolled over for the fifth time, perhaps a little understanding is in order. After all, they are sharing their bed with a human.

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