Overview
- A PLOS One paper published Oct. 7, 2026 tracked 25 people and 38 dogs with wrist and collar activity monitors over four weeks and found no significant effect of bed-sharing on objective sleep duration or sleep quality.
- The researchers reported that human and dog activity were often synced but that human movement more frequently preceded dog movement, suggesting owners sometimes wake their pets rather than the reverse.
- Half of participants said they felt their sleep was interrupted, and most reported feeling safer sleeping with their dog, showing a clear split between subjective experience and the monitors’ data.
- The study’s authors and outside experts caution the results are limited by the small sample, an overrepresentation of certain breeds (mainly huskies and malamutes), more female volunteers, data collected during the COVID period, and no dog-less control group.
- Earlier large survey work in 2024 found an association between pet co-sleeping—especially with dogs—and poorer sleep, and experts say larger, more diverse and controlled studies are needed to resolve the conflicting evidence and assess possible cumulative harms from repeated night awakenings.