Overview
- A study published Wednesday in PLOS One fitted activity monitors to 25 people and 38 dogs over four weeks and found no measurable drop in sleep duration or objective sleep quality when owners slept with their dogs.
- Researchers reported that human movements more often preceded dog movements, suggesting owners, not pets, were likelier to wake the other during the night.
- The tracker results contrast with a 2024 nationally representative U.S. questionnaire study that linked co‑sleeping—especially with dogs—to poorer self‑reported sleep and more insomnia symptoms, highlighting a gap between objective and subjective measures.
- Authors and outside experts caution the Toronto findings are limited by the small volunteer sample, an overrepresentation of women, narrow dog breeds (mostly huskies and malamutes) and pandemic‑era data collection, so the results may not generalize.
- For now owners should weigh subjective benefits like comfort and safety against possible disruptions, follow practical tips such as larger mattresses and routines, and watch for larger, diverse actigraphy studies that could settle the disagreement.