A new study published in the journal Human-Animal Interactions has shown that people with dogs are more likely to suffer from a sleep disorder. Cat ownership was also associated with sleep issues, but not to the extent that dog owners experience. Researchers acknowledged that while pets may have a relaxing effect on their owners during the daytime, they were ultimately detrimental to overall sleep quality. The differences in sleep quality were more extreme between dog owners and non-dog owners compared to cat owners and non-cat owners, possibly due to cats being more active at night, researchers hypothesized. Dr. Lauren Wisnieski, who led the study added that the link between sleep and keeping pets needs further research, which could inform how clinicians treat patients with low sleep quality and help experts develop educational resources on such health risks of pet ownership.
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