Many people consider their dogs as part of the family. They don’t have any problem letting their dogs loiter inside their homes. However, some Dog-owners never let their dogs in their bedroom. They believe keeping the dogs in their bedroom at night may cause disturbances and lead to poor sleep.
Now, a new study from the Mayo Clinic revealed that letting dogs stay in the bedroom at night actually helped some owners sleep better. The result opposed the common belief that dogs are not suitable for bedrooms.
Size doesn’t matter
For the study, researchers recruited 40 healthy adults who own a dog and have no history of sleep disorders.
The participants and their furry friends wore an accelerometer for seven nights. The accelerometer tracked the sleeping habits of both the participants and their dogs. Dogs included in the study were no less than 6 months old during the study period.
The researchers found a dog’s presence in the room may not be as disruptive as previously thought. Some owners even find comfort and sense of security when they let their dogs sleep in their bedrooms. Interestingly, the size of the dog did not play any significant role in the beneficial effect of their presence. A dog as small as Schnauzer or even as large as Great Dane may help their owner sleep better.
However, the study also found that letting a dog sleep in the bed may cause disruptions and lead to poorer Sleep Quality.
Americans truly love their dogs.
American Veterinary Association estimates that 36.5 percent of households, or more than 40 million households, in the United States have dogs. Of those American households, 63 percent consider their furry companions to be family. The average number of dogs owned per household is 1.6. In 2012, there were nearly 70 million dogs in the United States.
Study author Lois Krahn, M.D., a sleep medicine specialist at the Center for Sleep Medicine on Mayo Clinic’s Arizona campus, noted that the relationship between people and their dogs have changed over time. Dr. Kahn commented that most dog owners are not at home during the day due to their works. Because of this, dog owners chose to spend the night with their canine companions.
With the result of the Mayo clinic study, dog owners can now find comfort that having a dog in their bedroom have no negative effect on their sleep quality. However, the researchers recommended dog owners to prepare a separate bed for their dogs and do not let their dogs snuggle with them under the same cover.
