Study shows cat and dog owners have more disrupted nights with bed-sharing likely to be a big factor in poor sleep quality. Photo / Getty Images
Study shows cat and dog owners have more disrupted nights with bed-sharing likely to be a big factor in poor sleep quality. Photo / Getty Images
If you are constantly feeling dog-tired, it could be that your dog is to blame.
A study has shown that dog owners are more likely to have sleep disorders or difficulty nodding-off than canine-free households.
Likewise, people who have a cat were at greater risk of nocturnal knee-jerks which can disturb their slumber.
Dr Lauren Wisnieski, of Lincoln Memorial University, Tennessee, looked at data for more than 5000 people and found those with pets were significantly more likely to report poor sleep quality.
“On the one hand, dogs and cats may be beneficial for an owner’s quality of sleep due to the social support that pets provide – pets offer a sense of security and companionship, which may result in improvements in levels of anxiety, stress and depression,” she said.
“Yet on the other hand, pets may disrupt their owner’s sleep.”
Cat owners were 41 per cent more likely to have knee-jerks compared with non-cat owners. Photo / Getty Images
Cats are more active at night
The study analysed responses to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2005-2006.
Results showed that dog owners were 37 per cent more likely to report trouble sleeping and 39 per cent more likely to say they had a sleep disorder compared with those without dogs.
Cat owners were 41 per cent more likely to have knee-jerks compared with non-cat owners
Dr Wisnieski suggests that the differences in the association of sleep quality and cat versus dog ownership may be because cats tend to be more active at night.
She also found that there were fewer differences in sleep quality indicators between cat and non-cat owners compared with dog and non-dog owners.
The study did not ask whether owners allowed their dogs or cats to sleep in their bed.
Dr Wisnieski said: “If the causal relationship is established through further investigation, the results will have implications for clinician recommendations for treating patients with poor sleep quality.
A 2015 study by the Mayo Sleep Clinic found that many people reported a better night sleep when their pet was close to them at night. Photo / Getty Images
“Additionally, educational resources can be developed to inform pet owners about the risks of sleep disruptions and offer potential solutions, such as crating the pet or restricting access to the bedroom at night.
“In the future, studies would benefit from measuring the human-animal bond, so that we can understand how the strength of it affects quality of sleep.”
According to a survey by Churchill Insurance, around 57 per cent of dog owners let their pets share their bed, whether it disrupts their beauty sleep or not.
Previous research has been divided on whether pets are beneficial or detrimental to sleep.
However, 20 per cent of pet owners did complain that the animals interrupted their rest with behaviour such as wandering, snoring, voiding needs and whimpering.
In 2022, the pet welfare charity Blue Cross warned against sleeping with a dog because it could cause them to overheat, particularly if covered up with a duvet.
A 2020 survey from bed retailer Silentnight found eight out of 10 pet owners compromise their own sleep for their pet’s comfort, a quarter let the dog “steal the duvet”, and 12 per cent even “kick their partner out of bed” to give pets more room
The new research was published in the journal Human-Animal Interactions.
