Sell my husband, replace him with a dog and live out the rest of my days in perfect harmony, with head scratches, belly rubs and a furry companion who will love with unconditionally.
Sounds the dream, doesn’t it?
Alright, I’ll refrain from selling my husband, but that doesn’t mean I don’t dream of giving a dog much of my spare time. What’s more, I’d be forgiven for preferring to have one for company when I go to sleep, too: a study has shown that women sleep better beside dogs than men!
I’m not kidding. The study, undertaken in 2018, quizzed 962 women in the U.S. about their sleeping habits. Roughly half of the women slept with at least one dog, while 1/3 slept with a cat and over half of them slept with a human partner.
Reportedly, compared to those sleeping alongside a cat or a human, those sleeping close to a dog had higher levels of comfort and security.
This could be down to a multitude of reasons, not least the fact that dogs introduce a sense of security to their owners that cats simply – though we do love them – can’t. It might also have something to do with the sleeping patterns of dogs, since they have significantly lower levels of nocturnal activity than their feline counterparts.
Meanwhile, a different study, as per the Mayo Clinic, found that men and women slept better when a dog was present in the same room. That’s not to mention the fact that I’m sure dogs prefer sleeping closer to their hoomans too.
I knew there was a reason I’ve always insisted on letting dogs sleep in my bed when I’ve had them throughout my life.
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