Roughly half of dog owners and around 60% of cat owners invite their pets into bed, and the research on whether this arrangement helps or hinders sleep turns out to be genuinely mixed. Looking at what the studies actually found offers a far more useful guide than guesswork alone.
The Comfort Argument
A Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center survey found that 41% of participants described their pets as unobtrusive or even beneficial to sleep. The sense of safety a pet brings can ease the psychological arousal that often gets in the way of falling asleep, particularly for people sleeping alone, and separate research has found that simply being near a calm dog can lower blood pressure and heart rate during moments of stress.
Where the Data Gets Complicated
A 2024 study published in Scientific Reports followed over 1,500 US adults and linked co-sleeping with pets to poorer perceived sleep quality and greater insomnia severity, an effect tied specifically to dog ownership rather than cat ownership. An earlier Mayo Clinic survey of 300 patients found 53% of pet owning respondents felt their sleep was disrupted to some extent nightly, though the vast majority of disruptions lasted under 20 minutes. A separate Australian study of over 10,000 adults similarly found that co-sleepers took longer to fall asleep and felt more tired upon waking, even though total sleep duration looked comparable to non-co-sleepers.
The Dog's Perspective Matters Too
Interestingly, research using non-invasive polysomnography found that dogs sleeping beside their owners reached deep sleep stages faster and more efficiently than when paired with an unfamiliar person nearby. This suggests the arrangement can genuinely benefit a dog's rest even in cases where the data on human sleep looks mixed, highlighting how the relationship between a dog and its owner shapes canine sleep quality in ways researchers are only beginning to map.
Finding What Works for Your Household
- Try a trial period with the pet's own bed placed beside yours rather than on the mattress itself
- Notice patterns over several nights rather than judging from a single restless evening
- Consider a separate sleeping arrangement if snoring, movement or allergies are a factor
- Keep a consistent routine either way, since pets and humans both benefit from predictability
The takeaway: Sharing a bed with a pet is a personal choice with genuine upsides and measurable tradeoffs, and paying attention to your own sleep quality over time is the most reliable guide to what works best for your household.