It goes without saying that getting enough sleep is good for you. That’s why a lot of people are interested in finding the best way to sleep. But don’t drink chamomile tea or meditate before bed. A new study says that women sleep better with dogs next to them. In fact, a study from Canisius College in New York State found that dogs sleep better with people than with cats or people.
Animal behaviorist and study lead Christy Hoffman, Ph.D., said, “We found that women generally rate dogs as better bed partners than cats and human partners and report that their dogs improve the quality of their sleep.”
It has been found that women sleep better next to dogs.
In order to come to these conclusions, Hoffman polled almost 1,000 American women. 55% of the people who took the survey shared their bed with at least one dog, and 31% shared it with at least one cat. Also, 57% of these women slept with a human partner, while the other 37% did not. [1]
Hoffman also found out why dogs seemed to be the best pets for sleeping. The first reason is that dogs sleep more like people do than cats do.
“The difference between dogs and cats is not a surprise because dogs’ main sleep periods are more similar to people’s than cats’,” Hoffman said.
Though, these similar sleeping patterns might be good for you, we need to do more study to be sure. Haynes, on the other hand, thinks this might work.
“Dog bed partners may be better at working with their human’s sleep schedule than human bed partners,” she said. “Human bed partners often go to sleep and wake up at very different times.” Schedule gaps like these can definitely make it hard to sleep. Dogs may be better at working with their owners’ schedules than people who share a bed.
In addition, dogs need routines and duties, like going for a walk in the morning. This kind of habit helps their owners stick to a schedule, which leads to better sleep.
Safety and Stillness
Dogs also tend to sleep with their backs straight. Anyone who has slept with a partner who moves around a lot knows how annoying it can be. But the women in the study said that their dogs slept on the bed most of the night instead of their cats, who came and went during the night.
“This means that cats may be more likely than dogs to wake you up at night by getting on and off the bed.” Hoffman said, “We also found that dog owners were more consistent with their bedtime and wake-up times than cat owners. They also went to bed and woke up earlier than cat owners.”
Finally, the third and most important reason is that dogs make their people feel safe. Even more so than with cats or even with people.
“Some dog owners may find comfort in the thought that their dog will let them know if there is an intruder or some other kind of emergency. A dog’s bark may also scare away a potential intruder.” Hoffman said, “A cat is less likely to play this role, so it might not offer psychological comfort in the same way a dog might.”
The Best Partner for Good Sleep
However, even though the study says that dogs make great bedtime companions, their benefits depend on the person. Like, a dog might snore or make the bed too hot. There are also many cat lovers who say their cats help them sleep.
Remember that the study was based on how the volunteers thought their pets affected the quality and length of their sleep. So, more objective study is needed to say for sure that dogs are better sleeping partners. Hoffman, on the other hand, thinks that these studies could be useful because many American homes have pets.
“It will be helpful to keep doing this kind of research so we can get a better idea of when pets and their owners’ presence in bed may improve sleep quality and when co-sleeping with a pet may make sleep worse,” she said.
For example, studies have shown that women sleep better when they are alone than when they are with a person. However, a lot of people think the opposite. In the future, researchers might use devices like Fitbits to objectively track how well people sleep in a variety of sleeping circumstances.
