“We found that women commonly rate dogs as better bed partners than cats and human partners and report that their dogs enhance their sleep quality,” Christy Hoffman, animal behaviorist and lead researcher of the study.

Research Finds that Women Sleep Better Next to Dogs 

Hoffman also discovered why dogs seemed to make the best bed companions.  The first reason is that dogs’ sleeping patterns, as opposed to cats, more closely resemble those of humans.

“In comparison to human bed partners, dogs may be better at accommodating their human’s sleep schedule,” she said. “It’s not uncommon for human bed partners to go to bed at very different times and wake up at very different times. Such differences in partners’ schedules can certainly disrupt sleep. It may be that dog bed partners adapt more readily to their owner’s schedule than do human bed partners.”

Stillness and Security

Additionally, dogs tend to stay stiff as they sleep. Anyone who’s slept with a fidgety partner knows how disruptive they could be. However, women in the study reported that their dogs stayed on the bed most of the night instead of felines, who tended to come and go.

“This suggests that cats may be more likely than dogs to create disruptions by moving on and off the bed during the night. In addition, we found that dog owners kept to more consistent bedtime and wake time schedules than cat owners and also tended to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier than cat owners,”