A recent study from the University of Toronto indicates that sleeping alongside dogs may not disrupt human sleep patterns as previously thought. Researchers found that humans often disturb their dogs’ sleep rather than the other way around. Ming Fei Li, a co-author of the study, noted that this phenomenon points to an evolutionary bond between humans and dogs.
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The study monitored the nighttime activity of 25 human participants and their 38 dogs, all huskies and malamutes, using activity trackers similar to Fitbits. Conducted during the Covid pandemic and published in PLOS One, this research aimed to compare the behavior of socialized wolves and domestic dogs.
For four weeks, human participants wore wrist devices while their dogs wore collars. Most dogs shared a bed or room with their owners. Researchers, including Lavania Nagendran, looked at objective sleep metrics such as sleep duration and quality alongside self-reported human sleep quality.
While half of the participants, especially those with multiple dogs, reported sleep interruptions, the tracker data showed no actual impact on sleep quality or duration for either species. Nagendran mentioned that self-reported sleep disturbances didn't align with the objective data collected.
The study revealed that both humans and dogs tended to be active at similar times during the night, but humans were the primary movers, undermining findings from a 2020 study suggesting that dogs influenced human movements.
Another key finding was that it did not matter whether dogs slept directly in the bed or nearby; either way, no distinction was found in the sleep patterns. However, the researchers noted limitations, including a small participant group with fewer men than women and a lack of breed diversity among the dogs.
Past studies have produced mixed findings on co-sleeping with pets. Some, like a 2023 study in Human-Animal Interactions, indicated that pet ownership might correlate with poorer sleep. In contrast, a 2017 study from the Mayo Clinic reported better sleep when dogs were nearby, as long as they weren’t in the bed.
Experts like W. Christopher Winter suggest that dogs may improve sleep habits by enforcing consistent schedules, acting as what are known as “zeitgebers.” While consistency in sleep habits is emphasized, not all dogs are ideal co-sleepers. Larger dogs can take up space, while smaller breeds may snore or react to nighttime disturbances, potentially affecting their owners' sleep.