A recent study found that owning a dog or cat could negatively impact sleep quality, with dog ownership associated with higher odds of sleep disorders and cat ownership linked to an increased chance of experiencing leg jerks.
A new study published in the CABI journal Human-Animal Interactions indicates that your beloved pet dog or cat could be causing you to have less peaceful sleep than those who enjoy long, undisturbed rest.
Led by Dr. Lauren Wisnieski from Lincoln Memorial University, USA, the study concentrated on pet ownership in the United States, using data from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Dr Wisnieski, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Research and Affiliation, found that having a dog was associated with greater odds of having a sleep disorder and having trouble sleeping while having a cat was associated with a higher chance of having leg jerks.
While the causal nature of pet ownership on sleep quality and sleep disorders was unable to be established, the results of the study are consistent with previous studies that found that pet ownership has a negative impact on sleep quality.
Dr. Wisnieski said, “Prior studies on the association between pet ownership and sleep quality and sleep disorders have varied results.
“On the one hand, dogs and cats may be beneficial for an owner’s quality of sleep due to the social support that pets provide – pets offer a sense of security and companionship, which may result in improvements in levels of anxiety, stress, and depression. Yet, on the other hand, pets may disrupt their owners’ sleep.
“This cross-sectional study aimed to determine if there is an association between dog and cat ownership and sleep quality and sleep disorders – including consideration of aspects such as snoring, waking up during the night, needing pills to sleep, and leg jerks.”
The research built multivariable logistic regression models that also included sleep quality factors such as feeling unrested, feeling sleepy, not getting enough sleep, taking longer than 15 minutes to fall asleep, and getting less than six hours of sleep on average.
Dr. Wisnieski suggests that the differences in the association of sleep quality and cat versus dog ownership may be because cats tend to be more active at night.
Furthermore, she found that there were fewer differences in sleep quality indicators between cat and non-cat owners compared to dog and non-dog owners.
Dr. Wisnieski added, “If the causal relationship is established through further investigation, the results will have implications for clinician recommendations for treating patients with poor sleep quality.
“Additionally, educational resources can be developed to inform pet owners about the risks of sleep disruptions and offer potential solutions, such as crating the pet or restricting access to the bedroom at night.”
In conclusion, the study recognizes that there may be potential positive aspects of co-sleeping with a pet but the data obtained from NHANES did not state whether owners indeed slept with their dogs or cats.
“In the future, studies would benefit from measuring the human-animal bond, so that we can understand how the strength of it affects quality of sleep,” Dr. Wisnieski added.
Reference: “The association of pet ownership and sleep quality and sleep disorders in United States adults” by Kayla Medlin and Lauren Wisnieski, 17 March 2023, Human-Animal Interactions.
DOI: 10.1079/hai.2023.0005
