When heading off for a night’s slumber, does your pet follow? Perhaps the cat curls up at the end of your bed. Maybe the dog dives under the duvet or pops their head on your pillow. Alternatively, your pet might have their own devoted sleeping space. But if you do share your bed with Fluffy or Fido, what does science suggest is best practice?
Pets increasingly have new roles and expectations in society. Dogs, cats and a multitude of other companion animal species have become family members, a role far removed from their original purposes as protectors, hunting partners, pest exterminators and in some cases, food sources.
Owners now spend much more time in close contact with their pets, which confers many benefits. Positive associations with pets are linked with improved health, social contact, physical activity, and decreased perceptions of loneliness.
While people typically share living spaces with their pets, sharing beds is a much more intimate proposition. Nevertheless, research shows that of the estimated 90 million European households who own a least one pet, 45% of dogs and 60% of cats are allowed on the bed – and 18% of dogs and 30% of cats sleep with their owner inside the covers.
While it might be enjoyable and relaxing to share resting time with your pet, it could come with risks to pet and human health, not to mention impacts on sleep hygiene and human relationships too.
Disturbed Sleep
One challenge of sharing your bed with your pet could be disturbed sleep. The movement of sleeping partners (two or four-legged) may lead to reduced sleep efficiency, although a bed large enough to accommodate all can mitigate this.
Encouraging your pet to sleep elsewhere, but within the bedroom could also be beneficial if sleep disturbance is affecting your well-being. Our pets also need quality sleep, so their own sleeping space might be good for them too.
But shared sleeping areas can have positives. Many owners like to sleep with their pets, who can offer companionship, security and even warmth. More than 80% of dogs examined in studies preferred to be close to people at night, suggesting a mutual benefit. Different species of pets also appear to spend time resting together, so if you have a multi-pet household, all might enjoy shared sleeping.
Bed bugs
Pets sometimes bring unwanted guests into our homes such as fleas, ticks, mites and lice. These ectoparasites might hop from our pets to us and either cause transient or more prolonged irritation. In extreme cases, they can transmit other, potentially serious diseases such as plague or “cat scratch disease”, an infection caused by bacteria in cat saliva.
Pets often also harbor internal parasites such as the roundworm Toxocara canis – a parasite that affects both cats and dogs – some of which can be passed to humans, resulting in illness. Microscopic eggs that can cause infection can be carried on the fur of our pets and close contact increases the potential of spread between pets and people.
The potential for other disease-causing organisms including bacteria, viruses and fungi to spread between our pets and us is also of concern, especially antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as MRSA. Indeed, we can even share infections with our pets – including COVID-19 – so it’s not all one-sided.
Allergies and injuries
Sharing intimate contact with pets does raise the potential for increasing allergic responses or injury risk. Minor, unintentional injuries such as scratches can occur. Contact with dust and dander from pet hair can be prolonged when in close proximity. This material can also accumulate in the environment, potentially increasing the risk of allergic reactions.