Whether your pet should sleep on your bed comes down to how well you sleep with them there and whether anyone in the bed is allergic. The cat sleeps on my bed every night, and I'm not even slightly sorry about that.
Pets in the bed in brief
Your pet can stay unless someone in the bed is allergic, or the pet wakes you. In a Mayo Clinic study of 40 adults, having a dog in the bedroom didn't stop people sleeping well, but sleep efficiency was lower with the dog on the bed than just in the room. If you're allergic, Allergy UK says keep pets out of the bedroom and off beds. If your pet stays, wash the bedding often.
Is it the sleep, an allergy or the bedding?
- I sleep fine, but wonder if the dog costs me sleep
- Someone in the bed has a pet allergy
- The pet's staying, I just want a cleaner bed
A dog in the bedroom didn't hurt sleep, but sleep was a bit worse with it on the bed
People with one dog in the bedroom kept good sleep efficiency in Patel and colleagues' Mayo Clinic study, though it was lower when the dog shared the bed.1 The researchers had 40 healthy adults, mostly women, and their dogs wear activity monitors for seven nights. The authors concluded that having a dog in the bedroom may not be as disruptive to sleep as people had suspected.
If you want the dog close, give it its own bed on the bedroom floor rather than a spot on yours.
Each person had one dog, and no cats were studied.
In the Mayo Clinic study, where was the dog when people's sleep was less efficient?
- In another room
- On the bed
- On the floor of the bedroom
Sleep efficiency was lower with the dog on the bed than with the dog just in the room. A dog in the bedroom on its own didn't stop people sleeping well.
The cat wasn't represented, so I'll keep mine where it is and take my chances.
If you're allergic, keep pets out of the bedroom
This is where I stop joking and defer to Allergy UK. Take its measures seriously if anyone in the bed is allergic.
- Pet kept out of the bedroom, always
- Pet off the beds, sofas and cushions
- Pet bedding washed hot, regularly
- Duvet covers, curtains and cushions washed hot
- Vacuumed with a HEPA filter, and damp dusted often
Allergy UK says an air purifier proven to remove animal dander may help too.2 If you're still sneezing, take the symptoms to your GP or a pharmacist rather than to the mattress aisle.
If your pet stays on the bed, wash the bedding often
Housekeeping beats guilt in my book, so put clean sheets on weekly, which is my own rule anyway. My partner complains about the cat while stealing the duvet. If there's an accident on the mattress, follow our guide to getting urine out of a mattress. Try the dog in the room but off the bed for a week if your pet wakes you, and see how you sleep. Use our guide to junk sleep to spot a pattern of poor sleep.
Questions people ask about pets in the bed
Not necessarily, though sharing the bed may cost you some sleep, going by the Mayo Clinic study. If you sleep well with yours beside you, I won't tell you off: I'm not the bedroom police. If you're the one waking at 3am with a paw in your ribs, the dog's basket by the bed is a fair compromise, and the dog will survive it.
No, Allergy UK says to keep pets out of the bedroom and off beds if you're allergic. Put your bedding on a hot wash too, as it recommends. That means moving your pet from the duvet to a basket beside you doesn't meet the bedroom advice. However attached you are to having them close, follow those measures if you have a pet allergy.
The Mayo Clinic study didn't show a sleep benefit from having a dog in the bedroom. It found only that a dog in the room didn't disrupt sleep much, which isn't evidence that bringing one in will improve your sleep. Plenty of people find the company comforting, and that's how I feel about the cat. I just wouldn't claim it improves my sleep.
