PETS
January 21, 2012 Surveys have shown that about one-half of all pet owners share their beds with their furry friends.
Recently there has been some discussion about health problems that may arise from doing that, but mostly the issue is one of allergies.
Even so, we humans sure do like to snuggle up with our best friends.
But health problems are not the only concern. Another possible problem with sharing your bed with your pet is getting a good night's sleep.
If your four-legged buddy sleeps through the night, or comes and goes quietly enough that it doesn't wake you, it probably doesn't interfere with your ability to get enough rest. However, if your dog or cat wakes you up frequently by scratching, or nuzzling or going and coming throughout the night, you may find yourself sleep-deprived and yawning your way through the day.
Cats in particular tend to be nocturnal. They can see well in very low light, so they may wake up and want to play – with you, or a toy or each other (if you have more than one).
In fact, doctors who treat people with insomnia report that about one of every four patients has an animal that shares their bed and disrupts their sleep.
So what can you do to get a better night's sleep?
Years ago we had two kittens who would wake us up by playing in the middle of the night. Our studio apartment didn't have a bedroom door we could close, so we tried keeping them up all day one Saturday – no catnaps allowed – in hopes they would sleep through the night.
That worked pretty well, but we couldn't do that every day.
Now we allow one cat upstairs with us at night, and everybody else stays downstairs.
We found that it was hard to kick the animals out of the bedroom, both for us and for them, but we're sleeping a lot better.
The best approach would be to train the animals to stay off the bed, but sometimes that's easier said than done.
And for you, it may be that you can let your furry friend sleep right alongside you with no problems.
But, if you have difficulty sleeping, you may want to try keeping pets out of your bedroom.
There's a lot of value in getting a good night's sleep, for all members of the family, whether they have two legs or four, when you're speaking of pets.
© Copyright 2012, APR - ALABAMA PUBLIC RADIO
