--- title: Here’s Why Sleeping With Your Dog Is Actually Good For You description: Letting your dog sleep in the bedroom does not make your sleep worse, finds a Mayo Clinic study. It may actually help you rest easier. canonical: https://time.com/4934422/dog-bedroom-sleep/ author: Amanda MacMillan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-11T14:35:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:21:04.394Z article:section: Health og:title: Here’s Why Sleeping With Your Dog Is Actually Good For You og:description: But know this before you snuggle up too close. og:url: https://time.com/4934422/dog-bedroom-sleep/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0fcd988e8d425218/6988dd32656a3f3306bd19f9/dalmation-dog-in-bed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6000 og:image:height: 3375 og:image:alt: dalmation-dog-in-bed og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here’s Why Sleeping With Your Dog Is Actually Good For You twitter:description: But know this before you snuggle up too close. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0fcd988e8d425218/6988dd32656a3f3306bd19f9/dalmation-dog-in-bed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here’s Why Sleeping With Your Dog Is Actually Good For You > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Amanda MacMillan](https://time.com/author/amanda-macmillan/) ## Amanda MacMillan Sep 11, 2017 2:35 PM UTC  Processed with VSCO Processed with VSCO Getty Images by [Amanda MacMillan](https://time.com/author/amanda-macmillan/) ## Amanda MacMillan Sep 11, 2017 2:35 PM UTC Good news, dog lovers: Letting your four-legged friend into the bedroom does not worsen your [sleep](http://time.com/collection/guide-to-sleep/), according to a new Mayo Clinic study—and it may actually help you rest easier. But before you cuddle up too close, know this: Researchers still caution against snoozing in the same bed. The study, [published in _Mayo Clinic Proceedings_](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002561961730486X), included 40 adults, all of whom slept with a dog either in their bed or elsewhere in their bedroom. Both humans and canines wore motion-tracking devices for seven nights, and humans answered questions about their quality of sleep and where their dogs spent the night. The researchers found that having a [dog in the bedroom](https://www.mattressclarity.com/blog/pup-sleep-in-bed-with-you/) did not necessarily compromise sleep quality, as had previously been suspected. On average, people with dogs in their rooms (but not on their beds) maintained 83% sleep efficiency—a comparison of time spent asleep to total time in bed. (80% is generally considered satisfactory.) Sleeping with a dog in the bed, however, was linked to a slightly lower sleep efficiency: an average of around 80%. Though that is considered a satisfactory score, people with dogs in their beds woke up more throughout the night than those whose dogs slept elsewhere. Human sleep companions, on the other hand, did not cause similar disturbances. Those who slept two-in-a-bed had better sleep efficiency than those who slept alone. “Presumably, humans accommodate the needs of their bed partner in an effort to promote sleep in a manner that even the most well-trained dog does not,” the authors wrote in their paper. Lead author Dr. Lois Krahn, a sleep medicine specialist at the Center for Sleep Medicine at the Mayo Clinic’s Arizona campus, says that for some owners, sleeping with an animal companion in the room can be comforting. “To have a purring cat or a well-behaved dog nearby may be very relaxing and conducive to sleep,” she said in a [2014 video interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdiavRh6KL0) after conducing a [previous similar study](http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196%2815%2900674-6/abstract). “Provided everyone sleeps well, it can be a benefit.” **MORE**: [The Real Reason Why You Love Walking Your Dog](http://time.com/4925129/dog-walking-benefits-happiness/) But when people have multiple pets, she cautioned, it multiplies the chances for disruptions—like when dogs snore, move around or act out their dreams. That’s important, she says, because the number of people who have more than one pet has increased over the last decade. (In the current study, only single-dog households were included.) The new study was small, did not contain a control group, and most of participants were healthy, middle-aged women—so the results may not apply to other populations. Because of the small size of the study, the researchers also weren’t able to determine whether the breed or size of the dog made any difference. But the findings are still welcome news to anyone who loves snoozing with a pet but doesn’t want to sacrifice sleep. **Are you a dog or cat owner?** [_Join PetHero to get 25% vet bill discounts, toys and treats, and more!_ ](https://www.pethero.com/?utm%5Fsource=time.com&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcampaign=cmr-pet-hero&utm%5Fcontent=time-inarticle-tout-4) “My main recommendation is for people to take a look at their setup and carefully consider whether it is truly working or not,” Krahn said, “and not allow loyalty to their pet to blind them to consequences that aren’t desirable to their sleep.” And if you’re wondering how your pup feels about all this, don’t worry too much. “Regardless of location or an additional human bed partner,” the authors wrote in their paper, “dogs seemed to rest well.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4934422/dog-bedroom-sleep/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4934422/dog-bedroom-sleep/"},"headline":"Here’s Why Sleeping With Your Dog Is Actually Good For You","datePublished":"2017-09-11T14:35:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:21:04.394Z","description":"Letting your dog sleep in the bedroom does not make your sleep worse, finds a Mayo Clinic study. 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