Sleep in Individuals Sharing their Sleep Environment with Dogs: Pilot Study

Introduction: Pets are increasingly sharing a bed with their owners, regardless of social class. Methods: We interviewed 50 Dog owners, at the Neuro-Sono Outpatients Clinic. The semistructured interviews were designed to collect information about the place where it was allowed to sleep (same bed as owner, elsewhere in owner’s bedroom, or elsewhere in the home) and if the owners’ sleep is better or worse sharing the bed with their dogs.

Results: Of the 49 participants who made up the final sample, 43% (21 of 49) allowed their dogs to sleep in the bedroom, whereas 57% (28 of 49) had their dogs sleep elsewhere in the home. Of the 21 owners who shared their bedroom with their dogs, 62% (13) allowed their dogs to sleep on the bed, whereas 38% (8) did not. Sixty-six percent of respondents who allowed their dogs to sleep in the bedroom (14 of 21) reported that their sleep was better because of the dog´s presence (95%CI: 0.46-0.85).

Conclusion: We conclude that the presence of a dog in the bedroom or bed during nighttime is not associated to poor sleep; to the contrary, the dog owners interviewed in our sample reported that their sleep was better with a dog sleeping in the room.