Exactly how bad is it to sleep with your pet? Experts weigh in
Amanda Schupak
When Shelby Harris, a sleep psychologist in New York, starts working with patients who have sleep problems, she always asks if they have pets. “The first thing they say to me is: ‘I have a dog. You’re going to tell me not to sleep with the dog,'” she says.
Harris says that’s not necessarily the case. While some people enjoy sleeping with their pets, not everyone experiences sleep disorders. But Harris says if the pet is the source of the problem, it’s good for everyone to know.
Inside an online survey Almost half of more than 1,000 Australian adults surveyed in 2024 said they had slept in the same bed as their pet. If you’re in the same situation but aren’t sure if you should be, here are some things to consider.
Pets can sometimes transmit diseases
Dr. D., a veterinarian and microbiologist at Colorado State University’s school of veterinary medicine. Pets can expose us to a variety of bugs and germs, including ticks, fleas, parasites, and bacteria, says Josh Daniels. Having them in bed only increases your exposure, he says. And in some cases, they can make us sick.
For example, in 1991, an 81-year-old woman in Finland was hospitalized with fever and symptoms of a bacterial skin infection on her leg. Scientists reported that he had ulcers between his toes and was infected with a type of bacteria commonly found in the mouth of cats and dogs. She regularly slept with her cat, who had a habit of licking her feet and toes. Another case, published in 2000, described a 69-year-old man who slept with his dog before and after hip surgery and developed an infection at the surgical site. The bacteria was a type found in the mouths of cats and dogs and was transmitted through bites and scratches. It has also been reported that dog owners contracted plague, which can be transmitted through fleas, after sleeping with their pets.
But such cases are rare. And unless you’re prone to infection or have a weakened immune system, your risk of getting sick from sleeping with a pet is generally low, says Bruno Chomel, professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine.
The most common insects people are exposed to when sharing a bed with a pet are ticks and fleas, says Daniels, so be sure to use flea and tick prevention methods as recommended by a veterinarian. Ticks can transmit Lyme disease and other serious illnesses.
Routine deworming will also kill common and potentially dangerous intestinal parasites, such as roundworms.
If your pet has recently come from a shelter or is a puppy or kitten, watch out for skin conditions like ringworm, which is easily spread through touch, says Daniels, who co-sleeps with his dog.
When deciding whether to sleep with a pet, Chomel says it depends on your appetite for the risk of getting sick; He says it’s small but real.
Your sleep may suffer (even if you don’t realize it)
There isn’t a lot of research on how sharing a bed with a pet affects sleep, says Brittany Lancaster, an assistant professor of clinical psychology at Mississippi State University. But a few limited studies suggest that sleeping with a pet may make sleep worse.
In a study published in 2017, for example, 40 dog owners (mostly women) wore activity monitors while they slept for seven nights. Researchers found that participants slept less efficiently when the dog was in the bed than when the dog was in the room but not in the bed.
Some evidence suggests that people may not be aware they are being disturbed. In a 2020 study of 12 women who slept with their dogs, researchers found that dogs disrupted their owners’ sleep, but participants rarely reported these disruptions afterward. Scientists also found that some people perceive their pets as beneficial to their sleep.
D., a sleep physician and professor of clinical neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Douglas Wallace recognized this in his own research and clinic.
He theorized that the emotional support of sleeping with a pet may somehow outweigh the pet’s negative effects on sleep quality.
Wallace says pets offer health benefits that can improve sleep. Owners who walk their dogs every morning exercise regularly and may have to wake up at the same time every day; This contributes to good sleep.
If you think sharing a bed with a pet is affecting your sleep, Harris recommends removing the pet from the bed for a few nights and seeing if there’s a difference. If you don’t, he says, “I don’t mind it being there.”
Lancaster, on the other hand, prefers a more conservative approach: “If that tells you anything, I don’t sleep with my cats,” he says.
New York Times
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