SHESPEAKS Your Power to Influence

Rather than fixing up that doggy bed on the cold hard floor, it might be time to make some room for pooch in the big bed.  A new study suggests that pet-owners who share a bed with their pet get better sleep and feel more secure through the night.

The New York Daily News reports about a new survey from the Center for Sleep Medicine at the Mayo Clinic that finds snoozing with your pet can have some serious benefits to your sleep-health and well-being. Allowing a pet in the bed may sound like a bad idea to a lot of pet-owners for the fear that the animal may disturb our sleep by moving around too much or making noise. But according to the survey, the great majority of pet owners that allow their pet in the bed at night say the animal does not disturb their sleep and actually makes them feel a better sense of “security, companionship and relaxation” - this was true especially for those that would normally sleep alone.

Only about one in five of those that allow pets to sleep in their bed admit that the animal wakes them at night sometimes. These current findings may change the current sleep recommendations that call for kicking pets out of bed. Researchers found that dogs make the best sleep companions since they can adopt similar sleep patterns with their owners, whereas cats tend to wake and roam the house more frequently.

What do you think of the recent study that suggests sleeping with your pet can make for a better night’s sleep?

Where does your pet snooze at night?