Sleeping with their pets helped participants feel relaxed and increased their well-being, while countering the loneliness that often accompanies chronic diseases.īrooks, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, has experienced similar benefits from sleeping with his dog, who is tremendously soothing and gives him a great sense of security. The companionship and cuddles “were a distraction, so they weren’t lying there worrying about what was going to happen,” says study author Cary Brown, a professor of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Alberta. Slumbering with a pet “may help out with anxiety and depression, because a dog is like a weighted blanket - it gives you that snuggling and cuddling effect,” he said.Īccording to a small study published in the journal Social Sciences, people who suffered from long-term chronic pain (and as a result, sleep problems) found that snoozing with their pooches was overwhelmingly positive. Raj Dasgupta, an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California who specializes in pulmonology and sleep medicine, believes those interactions can also help overnight. Research shows that animals can improve our mental health for example, studies suggest that human-animal interactions lessen depression while lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Here they are, along with tips for what to do if you and your partner disagree about the matter: The pros If you have an older, even-tempered dog, the conversation becomes about the pros and cons of co-sleeping with your pet. Brooks adds that beds aren’t a place to play with toys or wrestle, and suggests spreading a blanket or towel across the bottom of the bed to create a spot your dog knows belongs to her. If you roll over and irritate an aggressive dog, you risk getting bitten. “If I get a new dog, I want him to learn that it’s OK to sleep in a room away from me.”īrooks also would want to make sure that the dog is potty-trained, knows basic commands, like “sit” or “down,” and understands that entering the bed is by invitation only.Īnother case where co-sleeping is a no-no is if you have a dog who causes you to “feel any trepidation and fear,” Brooks says. It’s never a good idea, for example, to share a bed with a brand-new puppy: Dogs need to learn how to sleep by themselves in their crates first, says Steve Brooks, a dog trainer and canine behavior expert.
In some cases, the co-sleeping decision is clear.
And the other one is, usually, who’s the better parent.” (In this case, he means to human offspring.) “It’s one of the three major complaints I get all the time,” says psychologist Joel Gavriele-Gold, author of “When Pets Come Between Partners.” The other two? “You love the cat, dog or fish more than you love me.
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