The importance of sleep for one’s health should go without saying. The ideal approach to obtain restful sleep is a topic of great interest to a large number of researchers. But forget about meditating before bed and drinking chamomile tea. It has been found that women sleep better when their dogs are nearby. That’s correct, a study by Canisius College in New York State revealed that dogs make more comfortable sleeping companions than either people or cats.
Christy Hoffman, Ph.D., an animal behaviorist and the study’s chief researcher, said, “We found that women commonly rate dogs as better bed partners than cats and human partners and report that their dogs enhance their sleep quality.”
According to Research, Women Sleep Better Next to Dogs
Hoffman arrived at these conclusions after surveying almost a thousand American women. According to the findings, 31% of the participants and 55% of the participants shared a bed with a cat or a dog. Moreover, 57% of these ladies slept in the same bed as a human companion, compared to the other 40%.[1]
Hoffman also found out why dogs appeared to be the most comfortable bedmates.The first explanation is that dogs’ sleeping habits more closely reflect human sleep patterns than those of cats.
Hoffman stated, “It is not surprising that dogs and cats have different sleep schedules because dogs’ major sleep periods tend to coincide more closely with humans’ than do cats’.”
Even though these similar sleeping habits might have advantages, additional research is necessary to be certain. However, Hoffman has some ideas about how this might function.
She said, “Dogs may be better at accommodating their human’s sleep schedule than human bed partners.” Human bed companions frequently go to sleep and wake up at significantly different times from one another. Sleep disruption is undoubtedly a result of schedule discrepancies between spouses. It’s possible that canine bed companions adjust to their owner’s schedule more easily than do human bed partners.
Dogs also need specific routines and obligations, like an early morning stroll. These kinds of regimens support their users in sticking to a schedule, which enhances the quality of their sleep.
Calm and Safety
Dogs also have a tendency to remain rigid during sleep. Anyone who has ever shared a bed with a fidgety partner understands how annoying they can be. Nonetheless, the study’s female participants stated that, in contrast to cats, who tended to come and go, their dogs spent the most of the night on the bed.
This implies that cats might be more prone than dogs to disturb sleep by getting in and out of bed at different times. Furthermore, Hoffman stated, “We discovered that dog owners tended to go to bed and wake up earlier than cat owners and also adhered to more regular bedtime and wake time schedules.”
The third and most crucial reason is that dogs provide their owners a sense of security.more so than in relationships with humans or even cats.
“Some dog owners may find solace in the knowledge that their pet will notify them in the event of an intruder or other emergency; also, a dog’s barking may dissuade a possible invader. Hoffman stated that whereas a dog may offer psychological consolation, a cat is less likely to assume this function.
The Ideal Sleep Partner
Dogs are the ideal sleeping companions, according to the study, although their advantages vary depending on the situation.A dog might, for instance, snore or overheat the bed. Furthermore, a lot of owners report that their cats aid in their ability to go asleep.
Remember that the study relied on the volunteers’ perceptions of the effects of their pets on the quantity and quality of their sleep. Therefore, further impartial study is required before it can be said with certainty that dogs make better sleeping companions. Nonetheless, Hoffman thinks that since pets are common in American homes, these research might be helpful.
“This line of research will be valuable to develop a clearer picture of the contexts under which co-sleeping with a pet may be detrimental to one’s sleep quality, and the contexts under which pets and their presence in their owner’s bed may positively impact sleep quality,” the spokesperson stated.
For example, studies have indicated that women sleep better on their alone than in the company of a human, but many people hold the opposite view. In the future, scientists may employ Fitbit-like gadgets to measure people’s sleep quality objectively under various sleeping scenarios.
We Adopted a Rescue Dog — The Next Night, My 8-Year-Old Son Was Gone
What began as a simple family outing to adopt a rescue dog quickly turned into a night of panic, hidden secrets, and difficult truths. That night made me question everything I believed about trust and family.
Last weekend, I thought I lost my son.
It all started with a dog. My son, Andy, had been begging for one for months. Every day, he’d ask, “Dad, can we please, please get a dog?” He was relentless, and I was getting close to giving in. But he also had to convince Kelly, my wife.
After a lot of talking, my wife finally agreed. She looked at me seriously and said, “Fine, but only if it’s small and well-behaved. We’re not getting some big, messy mutt.”
Kelly had grown up in a tidy home, where pets were seen as small, clean, and polite. A poodle or a Yorkie, maybe, but definitely not a scruffy dog. Our son, though, wanted a real friend.
The shelter was loud, full of barking and howling. Andy’s eyes lit up as we walked down the rows of kennels, skipping over the fluffy dogs we were supposed to be considering.
Then he stopped. In front of us was a kennel with the scruffiest dog I’d ever seen. She had tangled fur, big brown eyes, and a tail that looked crooked. She didn’t bark, just looked at us, tilting her head as if curious.
I squatted down next to Andy. “She’s not exactly what your mom wanted, buddy.”
“She needs us,” he said, looking at me with a stubborn glint. “Look at her. She’s… sad. We could make her happy.”
“All right,” I said, ruffling his hair. “Let’s bring her home.”
When we walked in, my wife’s face fell. “She’s a little scruffier than I imagined,” she said, glancing between the dog and me.
“Come on, Daisy’s great,” I said, grinning. “Besides, they’re already best friends.”
She forced a small smile, looking unconvinced. “I just hope she doesn’t ruin the carpets.”
That evening, as we got ready for bed, Daisy wouldn’t settle down. She paced around, whining softly.
“Can’t you do something about that?” Kelly sighed, looking irritated.
“She’s probably nervous being in a new place,” I said. “Maybe she just needs some attention.”
Kelly hesitated, then swung her legs over the bed. “Fine. I’ll give her a treat or something,” she muttered and left the room.
Minutes later, she returned, saying, “She just needed a treat.” She climbed into bed, and the whining stopped.
I woke up around 3 a.m. to a strange quiet. Something felt wrong. I got up to check on Andy. His bed was empty, the covers on the floor, and the window slightly open.
A cold panic crept over me.
I rushed down the hall, checking every room, calling his name louder each time. But he was nowhere.
I ran back to the bedroom and shook my wife awake. “He’s not in his room,” I said, my voice shaking. “The window’s open. Daisy’s gone too.”
She sat up, her eyes wide, but there was something else—guilt?
“Maybe she escaped, and he went after her?” I asked, desperate for an answer.
She bit her lip, hesitating. “I don’t… I don’t know,” she stammered.
I picked up my phone and called the police, praying he was somewhere nearby.
Just as I was about to step outside, there was a soft scratching at the door.
When I opened it, Daisy sat there, covered in mud, panting. I dropped to one knee, feeling a mix of relief and confusion.
“Daisy?” I whispered. “Where were you?”
It felt strange to ask a dog, but I was desperate. She just looked up at me with tired eyes.
Hours later, just as dawn broke, my phone buzzed. It was Mrs. Carver, an elderly neighbor who lived nearby.
“I saw a little boy near the woods behind my house,” she said. “He looked… lost.”
I thanked her, grabbed my keys, and headed to the car. Kelly and Daisy followed, looking tense. The woods weren’t far, but it felt like miles.
When we arrived, I ran into the woods, calling his name. And then, finally, I saw him.
He was curled up under a tree, shivering, his face dirty. I knelt beside him, pulling him close.
“Buddy,” I said, my voice breaking. “You scared us half to death.”
He looked up, his face lighting up when he saw Daisy behind me. She’d followed us, sniffing the ground.
“Daisy,” he whispered, hugging her. “I thought you ran away because of me.”
I picked him up, wrapping him in my arms. “Let’s go home, all right?”
He nodded, looking back at Daisy like she was the only thing keeping him safe.
When we got back to the house, relief washed over me. My son was safe, Daisy was with us, but something still felt off.
My wife was tense, her eyes avoiding mine. She seemed distant, almost nervous. After we’d settled Andy on the couch with a blanket, I turned to her.
“I swear I locked the door. How did Daisy get out?”
She looked down, her hands twisting. After a long pause, she took a deep breath. “I… I let her out.”
I stared, not understanding. “You… let her out?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I thought… maybe if she disappeared, he’d get over it. She wasn’t the dog I wanted. She’s… scruffy, and I didn’t think she fit here.”
I felt anger and hurt boiling inside. “So you just… let her go?”
“I didn’t know he’d… he’d go after her,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I thought he’d be sad, then move on. I didn’t want this mess. I just wanted things to be normal.”
“Normal?” I repeated. “You put him in danger because you couldn’t handle a little mess?”
She sank into a chair, covering her face. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know he’d do something so brave or that Daisy would stay with him. I didn’t think.”
I shook my head, struggling to understand. I looked at Andy, snuggled up with Daisy on the couch, her head on his lap. They’d bonded through something none of us had expected.
“I don’t know how we move past this,” I said quietly. “But for now… Daisy stays. She’s part of this family, and you need to accept that.”
She nodded, wiping her eyes, realizing the weight of what had happened.
As I watched Andy stroke Daisy’s fur, a small, hopeful warmth rose in my chest. Family wasn’t about having things perfect. Sometimes, it was about the imperfect moments, the scruffy dogs, and the quiet forgiveness that held us all together.
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