Study exposes your adorable family pet dog or cat might result in agitated nights

A brand-new research study released in the journal Human-Animal Interactions exposes that your adorable family pet dog or cat might result in you having more agitated nights than those enhanced with extended periods of tranquil sleep.

The research study, led by Dr. Lauren Wisnieski of Lincoln Memorial University, U.S., focused particularly on pet ownership in the U.S. and brought into play information from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) performed in 2005-2006.

Dr. Wisnieski, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Research and Affiliation, discovered that having a dog was connected with higher chances of having a sleep condition and having problem sleeping while having a cat was connected with a greater opportunity of having leg jerks.

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While the causal nature of pet ownership on sleep quality and sleep conditions was not able to be developed, the outcomes of the research study follow previous research studies that discovered that pet ownership has an unfavorable effect on sleep quality.

Dr. Wisnieski said, “Prior research studies on the association in between pet ownership and sleep quality and sleep conditions have actually differed outcomes.

“On the one hand, dogs and cats might be useful for an owner’s quality of sleep due to the social assistance that family pets supply—family pets use a complacency and friendship, which might lead to enhancements in levels of stress and anxiety, tension and anxiety. Yet on the other hand, family pets might interrupt their owners’ sleep.

“This cross-sectional research study intended to identify if there is an association in between dog and cat ownership and sleep quality and sleep conditions—consisting of factor to consider of elements such as snoring, getting up throughout the night, requiring tablets to sleep and leg jerks.”

The research study developed multivariable logistic regression designs that likewise consisted of sleep quality elements such as feeling unrested, feeling drowsy, not getting adequate sleep, taking longer than 15 minutes to drop off to sleep and getting less than 6 hours of sleep on average.

Dr. Wisnieski recommends that the distinctions in the association of sleep quality and cat versus dog ownership might be because cats tend to be more active during the night.

Furthermore, she discovered that there were less distinctions in sleep quality indications in between cat and non-cat owners compared to dog and non-dog owners.

Dr. Wisnieski included, “If the causal relationship is developed through more examination, the outcomes will have ramifications for clinician suggestions for dealing with clients with poor sleep quality.

“Additionally, instructional resources can be established to notify family pet owners about the dangers of sleep interruptions and use prospective options, such as crating the family pet or limiting access to the bed room during the night.”

In conclusion, the research study acknowledges that there might be prospective favorable elements of co-sleeping with a family pet, however the information obtained from NHANES did not state whether owners certainly slept with their dogs or cats.

“In the future, research studies would take advantage of determining the human-animal bond, so that we can comprehend how the strength of it impacts quality of sleep,” Dr. Wisnieski included.

Provided by
CABI