When you share a bed with someone, it can be difficult to snuggle up and get to sleep. If you've been used to years of having a nice big double bed all to yourself, it can be a bit of a rude awakening to have to give 50% of your mattress space and half your duvet to someone else.
But it turns out that sharing it with a pet might be the answer. Indeed, a recent scientific study has suggested that women sleep better at night when sharing a bed with a dog than they do with a partner.
The findings come as a result of a study published in the multidisciplinary scientific journal Anthrozoös and was entitled: 'An Examination of Adult Women’s Sleep Quality and Sleep Routines in Relation to Pet Ownership and Bedsharing.'
In it, researchers from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, surveyed a total of 962 adult women in the United States about their sleeping habits. They found that the woman who slept with a dog in or on their bed with them, instead of a person or cat, boasted longer and better quality sleep.
Furthermore, they also learned that the women who slept with a dog felt stronger feelings of comfort and security at night, and dog owners who slept alongside their pets found it easier to wake up earlier than those who owned cats or other pets.
Take a look at this interview with a woman who 'married' her dog on live TV:Commenting on their findings in the paper's abstract, lead authors Christy L. Hoffman, Terrie Vasilopoulos, and Kaylee Stutz noted:
"Dog owners had earlier bedtimes and wake times than individuals who had cats but no dogs. Compared with human bed partners, dogs who slept in the owner’s bed were perceived to disturb sleep less and were associated with stronger feelings of comfort and security.
"Conversely, cats who slept in their owner’s bed were reported to be equally as disruptive as human partners, and were associated with weaker feelings of comfort and security than both human and dog bed partners."
So there you have it: if you're struggling to get some decent shut-eye at nighttime, then the answer might be to invest in a canine companion, instead of scented candles and hot chocolate.
