We all love our pets, I remember as I child I used to love sleeping with ‘Billy’ our family dog. My mum didn’t approve of this but I did it anyway. I don’t have a pet right now (London is not helping) but many of my friends have and the other day we were talking about their sleeping habits and whether they share their bed with their pets. I decided to write this post as I thought it is a quite interesting topic as it seems a lot of people sleep with their cats and dogs.
How about dogs?
Dogs really like sharing the bed with their owners especially the ones who are away from home most of the day. For them, it’s a really easy way to make up for the lost time during the day. After all, dogs love attention and affection.
A recent Mayo Clinic study suggests that dogs should not sleep in the same bed but they can sleep in the same room. The research selected 40 adults with no health issues that were sleeping with their dogs. For a week they wore activity trackers so their sleep could be monitored. Dr Lois Krahn who conducted the study concluded: “We found that many people actually find comfort and a sense of security from sleeping with their pets.” However, letting the dogs get into the bed can be very disruptive and decrease the quality of your sleep. It is more advisable to have the dogs sleeping next to the bed so they don’t affect your sleep but you still get the security feeling.
How about cats?
Cats behave in a very different way compared to dogs. They don’t want to compromise so it’s pretty much all or nothing. Having said that, if you decide that you don’t want to sleep with your cat then you should make sure that they don’t enter your room at all during nighttime. If you do allow them to come in then they will definitely want to come and sleep with you in your bed. So it’s up to you to decide how you want to deal with your cat!
Other potential issues
Pets are amazing but some people have allergies that can be triggered by cats or dogs. In this case, it is advisable to keep the pets away from the bedrooms though-out the day so you ensure that there is an allergy-friendly environment in your bedroom. You can also use a HEPA filter which can help a lot! However, if you insist on sleeping with your best friends then allergy shots might be the solution.
Another potential issue you can face is a restless pet. Some cats and dogs cannot help it and during the night they constantly move and roll around! This is obviously not great if you want a quality night sleep so if that’s the case make sure you sleep alone.
Final thoughts
In this post, I talked about the average pet and share with you some interesting findings that I got from online research. It is important to state here that pets, just like humans, have their own way and habits. Therefore, it is important for you and them to find the right formula and make it work. I still have amazing memories of sleeping with our dog when I was young. I can’t remember really if I was sleeping well but I definitely was feeling secure and happy! These things are more important in life so make sure you do what it’s best for you and your little friends.
For any questions, drop me a line here.