Women sleep better next to dogs than men, study says

Scientific research has suggested an easy fix to help women get more sleep: tell your male partner to sleep on the coach while you share a bed with your dog.

Sounds easy enough, right?

Well, according to a 2018 study, if a woman sleeps in the same bed as her dog rather than sharing with a man, she will get a better night’s rest.

Dr Christy L. Hoffman, an animal behaviour professor at Canisius College in New York, and her team conducted the study and managed to reach that surprising conclusion.

They surveyed 962 adult women in the US and found that women reported their dog to be less disruptive than sharing their bed with another human.

Dogs also provided them with a greater sense of security and comfort.

Dr Hoffman told Healthline: “In comparison to human bed partners, dogs may be better at accommodating their human’s sleep schedule.

“It’s not uncommon for human bed partners to go to bed at very different times and wake up at very different times.

“Such differences in partners’ schedules can certainly disrupt sleep.

“It may be that dog bed partners adapt more readily to their owner’s schedule than do human bed partners.”

By contrast, cats were found to be just as disruptive as humans and didn’t provide the same sense of security as a dog or a human.

Dr Hoffman was keen to make clear that sharing your bed with a dog might not be the solution for everybody.

Speaking to Broadly, she said: “The keyword here is perception.

“This [study is based on] individuals self-reporting how they feel their sleep is affected and it’s important to note that this is based on aggregated data and an average of responses, so getting a dog won’t solve everyone’s sleep problems.”

Suppose that makes sense, after all, some dogs snore and need to get up for a wee in the middle of the night, just like men.

Plus sharing a bed with a St Bernard is hardly going to be the same as cosying up next to a Pomeranian or something.

Still, the dog is hardly going to barge in at 3am stinking of booze is it?

Just note, that if your Mrs kicks you out of bed, it won’t always mean it’s because she wants to replace you with a dog.