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Some dogs get free rein of their humans' bedroom. Some are banished for fear of causing a bad night's sleep. A new Mayo Clinic study published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings this week says it's OK to let Mr. Fluffypants snooze with you, but there's a catch. Mr. Fluffypants needs his own bed.
The study, titled "The Effect of Dogs on Human Sleep in the Home Sleep Environment," offers this plainspoken goal: "to objectively assess whether a dog in the bedroom or bed disturbs sleep." This has long been a topic of debate among pet owners. A previous Mayo Clinic study from 2015 surveyed 150 patients seen at the Center for Sleep Medicine. More than half allowed their pets to sleep in the bedroom, but a subset of those described their pets as disruptive to their slumber.
The newest Mayo study tracked the sleep quality of 40 dog-owning participants with no sleep disorders over the course of five months. Both the human and dog participants wore accelerometers for seven nights of the study.
"We found that many people actually find comfort and a sense of security from sleeping with their pets," says Mayo Clinic sleep medicine specialist Lois Krahn.
The study, titled "The Effect of Dogs on Human Sleep in the Home Sleep Environment," offers this plainspoken goal: "to objectively assess whether a dog in the bedroom or bed disturbs sleep." This has long been a topic of debate among pet owners. A previous Mayo Clinic study from 2015 surveyed 150 patients seen at the Center for Sleep Medicine. More than half allowed their pets to sleep in the bedroom, but a subset of those described their pets as disruptive to their slumber.
The newest Mayo study tracked the sleep quality of 40 dog-owning participants with no sleep disorders over the course of five months. Both the human and dog participants wore accelerometers for seven nights of the study.
"We found that many people actually find comfort and a sense of security from sleeping with their pets," says Mayo Clinic sleep medicine specialist Lois Krahn.
Study: Sleeping with a dog in your bedroom can be comforting
How do dogs in the bedroom (and on the bed) impact your sleep quality?
www.cnet.com
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