We did it. We got a puppy. An adorable, cuddly, rambunctious, 10-pound bundle of puppy love and licks. She is sweet, exuberant, mischievous and full of doggie attitude. She leaps onto furniture and high places like a mountain goat and sleeps in our daughter’s bed.
“Quinn”, now dubbed “Quincy”, was a rescue and slept in a large “people” bed with five other dogs at her foster home. So, I couldn’t very well stick her in a crate and say goodnight, now could I? Well, maybe I could have, but if you know me, and the fact that most nights I sit with my daughter until she falls asleep, then you won’t be surprised to find out I opted to sleep with the dog when we brought her home.
Go ahead. Laugh. Or roll your eyes at me. In my defence, I was worried she’d be scared, lonely and, to be completely honest, that she would cry all night. Then nobody sleeps. And since I’m a terrible sleeper anyway, it only made sense that I should be the one on puppy watch. So, I slept on my daughter’s bottom bunk – with the dog.
Pet Adoptions by The Numbers
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 global pandemic, pet adoption numbers have skyrocketed. According to the Washington Post, “Shelters, nonprofit rescues, private breeders, pet stores — all reported more consumer demand than there were dogs and puppies to fill it. Some rescues were reporting dozens of applications for individual dogs. Some breeders were reporting waiting lists well into 2021.” I can attest to the waiting lists to adopt young dogs and puppies. It took a good six months, dozens of applications and lots of disappointment, before we were finally chosen to adopt Quinn.
According to the data science team at SparkysSpots.com, Americans adopt roughly 3.2 million pets from shelters each year. Those rescued pets only represent a third of all the pets adopted every year. So, if you include dogs from breeders, that’s close to 10 million pets adopted every single year! In fact, 64% of American households include at least one pet and 44% of those pets are dogs. That means that roughly one in every three Americans owns a dog.
Owning a Pet Is Good for Your Health
Not a dog person? Think about these numbers for a minute. Clinical tests show that people who live alone decrease their risk of heart disease by 36% when they adopt a pet. Animals boost human activity through exercise and play. In fact, dog owners are much more likely to get and even double the recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise than those without dog. And, according to a scientific report conducted in the UK in 2019, dogs also help children to get moving as well.
Children whose families own dogs walk about 100 minutes per week and play with their canines another 200 minutes. It’s also good to note that petting a dog (or cat) for as little as 10 minutes decreases physical and mental stress and, that babies living with pets develop more robust immune systems than those who don’t.
Three Out of Four Americans Sleep with Their Dogs
So back to the question at hand. Should you sleep with your dog or not? First off, it’s good to note that according to a study of 1000 adults living in the US conducted by Stonyfield Organic 74% of people sleep with their dogs. Could it be that these millions of people are doing it “all wrong”? Rest assured. There is nothing wrong with sleeping with your dog. According to a Mayo Clinic study, sleeping in the same room as your pet does not disrupt your sleep, unless of course, the dog takes up half the bed and hogs all the covers. Ha! You know who you are.
In most cases, sleeping with your dog is actually good for you. It can have a calming effect and make you feel safe. “To have a purring cat or a well-behaved dog nearby may be very relaxing and very conducive to sleep,” says Dr. Lois Krahn of the Mayo Clinic. “So, provided everyone sleeps well, it can be a benefit to have an animal nearby.”
As for those of us who often don’t sleep well, sharing your bed with a comforting, cuddly animal can be beneficial provided your dog isn’t also an insomniac. (Yes, that’s a thing but I’ll save that for another blog post.) Patients diagnosed with a range of issues, such as depression, bipolar disorder, autism, ADHD, post-traumatic disorder (PTSD) and Alzheimer’s disease benefit from their interaction with therapy dogs. A 2015 study conducted by the CDC showed that pet dogs also have a positive impact on children’s mental health and healthy weight.
According to Mental Health America nearly two-thirds of Americans state that stress causes them to lose sleep. So, if your insomnia is caused by stress and anxiety, then sharing your bed with a pet could be just what the doctor ordered. But before you jump on the pet co-sleeping bandwagon, and invite Fido to share your bed, Dr. Krahn recommends to take stock of the following things:
- How big is your pet?
- How well does your pet sleep? (Some pets make a lot of noise and move around a lot at night)
- Where does your dog sleep? On the floor, on the bed, on the pillow, under the covers?
- How well do you sleep?
- Do you sleep alone or is there another person there? Do either of you have allergies?
- How big is your bed?
If all those things are working, then sleeping with your pet is definitely beneficial.
As for us, I’m happy to say, our dog and my daughter now keep each other company at night, finding comfort in each other’s presence and sleeping soundly. No more bottom bunk for me!
Do you sleep with your pet(s)? Drop me a line, I’d love to know.