Sleeping with Your Dog Doesn’t Impair Sleep Quality

A University of Toronto study, published in the journal Plos One, concluded that sleeping with your own dog does not reduce the duration or quality of sleep, according to ANSA reporting. The research followed 25 people and their 38 dogs for four weeks with accelerometers to measure nighttime movements.

Study Summary

Anthropology researchers from the University of Toronto investigated whether sharing the bed with a dog affects the amount and quality of human sleep. The work, published in the scientific journal Plos One, merged objective movement data with participants’ reports to evaluate the interaction between owners and their pets at night, according to ANSA.

Methodology

• Sample: 25 people and their 38 dogs.
• Duration: four weeks of continuous monitoring.
• Instruments: accelerometers placed on the human wrists and on the dogs’ collars, capable of recording activity and rest periods.
• Additional data: self-reported questionnaires on sleep perception and nighttime disturbances.

The accelerometers allowed comparison of temporal movement patterns between humans and dogs, assessing who moved first and whether one’s movements implied a measurable disruption to the other’s sleep.

Key Results

• Sharing a bed with one’s own dog did not significantly affect the participants’ sleep duration or quality, according to the collected data.
• There was a strong correlation of nighttime activity between humans and dogs — that is, movements tended to cluster in time — but, frequently, humans moved first, followed by the dogs.
• Even when owners reported feeling disturbed by the animal, objective records did not show a measurable impact on sleep efficiency or total rest duration.

These findings suggest that, at least in the studied sample, a dog’s presence in bed tends to follow the owner’s movement patterns without statistically degrading basic sleep metrics.

Limitations and Methodological Considerations

• The sample is relatively small (25 people), which limits generalization to larger populations or those with different characteristics.
• The data come from accelerometers, which measure movement but do not capture physiological sleep aspects (such as REM stages or micro-awakenings detectable by polysomnography).
• Individual preferences, dog size, health habits, and environmental conditions can influence how cohabitation affects sleep in other contexts.

Therefore, while robust for measuring joint movement, the study does not replace clinical assessments in cases of chronic insomnia or sleep disorders.

Relevance for Brazilians and Italian Descent

The conclusion that sleeping with one's dog does not compromise sleep duration or quality has practical implications for pet owners in Brazil, including Brazilians of Italian descent who follow news from Italy and the world. The information can help guide personal decisions about shared sleep without relying on fears or myths.

Readers interested in current events can consult more Notícias da Itália and, for those following immigration and family topics, the pages on Cidadania Italiana and Vida na Itália can provide cultural context about the relationship between people and domestic animals in both countries.

What’s Clear

The study published in Plos One indicates that in the observed sample, sharing a bed with a dog does not bring measurable harm to human sleep, even though owners may perceive some disturbance. The decision to allow the animal to sleep in the same bed remains a personal choice based on comfort, habits, and individual preferences, and is less about fears of sleep quality loss when there are no prior clinical problems.

Source: ANSA