Can your cat or dog sleep in your bed, or is it actually a bad idea?

Dog and cat owners are sometimes more idiosyncratic than their pets. For example, they talk in childish voices to their four-legged friend and fluffy tomcat, give them better food than their own food, and sometimes even let the animal crawl in bed with them. Spoonen this is good, but is it a good idea to take a spoon with your cat or let your cat sleep in your bed?

Most, no, all cats have their own mind. They come and go as they please and also jump on your bed when they feel like it. You certainly don’t always have control over it. The average cat owner frequently wakes up to a sleeping cat at the foot of the bed. Whether sleeping with your cat in bed is good for your nighttime rest, the science is still not entirely certain.

Cat or dog in bed: no problem for young people

A recent scientific research at age 13 to 17 with a dog or cat showed that 78 percent of all respondents slept with their pets. The study sought to find an answer to the question of whether sleeping with a pet improves the quality of sleep in young people. Scientists chose to study young people and young adults because there is a lot of literature on (bad) sleep habits in this group.

The study’s research results show that this group’s sleep is unaffected by sleeping with a dog or cat in bed. Sleeping with the animal does not disturb the sleep patterns of young people and young adults, but it also does not improve the often poor sleep pattern.

Sleeping with your partner or your pet? It does not matter

Okay, it’s teens and young adults. But what about adults? Is our sleep affected positively or negatively when our cat curls up at the foot of our bed?

A Research published in 2018 says that a cat can indeed disrupt our sleep. There is a big “but” here: sleeping with a dog or a cat disrupts sleep just as much as sharing the bed with a human does.

The cat affects sleep

However, not all scientific studies agree with the above research results. For example, the results of another recent scientific study from 2021 show that sleeping with a cat in bed can indeed have implications for a good night’s sleep.

Research shows that cat owners are more likely to be sleep deprived. They have more difficulty sleeping at least seven hours a night. The study does not conclusively conclude that having a cat and / or sleeping with a cat is a risk factor for sleep quality.

Science is therefore not convinced of the influence of a dog or a cat in bed on your sleep. Do you think it’s best to sleep with a cat or a bed at the foot of your bed, or next to you under the blanket? Do your thing and sleep well. It may not greatly affect your sleep, but your pet may have the best night’s sleep ever in your bed.