Women sleep better with dogs by their side instead of human partners, study says

Bed-sharing with dogs leads to adult women sleeping better, research revealed.

Dogs who slept in the owner’s bed were associated with stronger feelings of comfort and security compared with human bed partners, according to the study’s abstract, posted on Taylor & Francis Online.

Dogs were also perceived to disturb sleep less compared with humans and cats.

Cats who slept in their owner’s bed were reported to be equally as disruptive as human bed partners. They were also associated with weaker feelings of comfort and security than both human and dog partners.

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MERE PERCEPTIONS OF SLEEP QUALITY

However, these conclusions were arrived at based on perceptions of adult women who participated in the survey.

It is necessary to conduct follow-up research to determine if those perceptions align with objective measures of sleep quality.

The perception survey was administered to 962 adult women living in the United States.

Fifty-five of participants shared their bed with at least one dog and 31 percent with at least one cat. Fifty-seven percent of them shared their bed with a human partner.

However, overall findings did not show a strong relationship between pet ownership status or bed-sharing conditions and sleep quality as assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Findings also show that a high percentage of study participants experienced sleep quality deficits. It is possible, the researchers noted, that pet ownership contributed to the high global PSQI scores.

DOGS ADOPTING HUMAN-LIKE TRAITS

Humans’ relationship with dogs, considered man’s best friend, has been a subject of a number of studies.

Growing research, in fact, suggests that dogs often act more human than canine.

Studies have shown that dogs can read facial expressions, communicate jealousy, display empathy, and even watch TV.

Dogs evolved from wolves to domesticated pets between 11,000 and 16,000 years ago. Over this process, they have picked up people-like traits.