A busy schedule often leaves us no time to talk to our pets, and the evening may be the only opportunity. But falling asleep with a dog is not always a good idea.

The benefits of communicating with dogs, especially psychologically, are well known, and interaction with them helps to relieve stress and anxiety. And for many dogs, they are not just pets, but full family members. Naturally, we want to spend as much time with them as possible. The psychologist Lois Krahn and her colleagues at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester have decided whether they can sleep with the dog.

The researchers worked for five months with 40 dog owners who had no sleep disorders. All the dogs were older than six months. Throughout seven nights, the researchers studied the habits and quality of sleep of one pair of people and a dog. To do this, both the owner and the pet wore special devices to monitor their activity - accelerometers.

It turned out that those who slept in the same room with their dog had a better quality of sleep than in The Effect of Dogs on Human Sleep in the Home Sleep Environment. But the owners, who let their pets get into bed, sleep worse.

Bottom line: Leave your dog in your room overnight, but don't let him sleep on the bed.

So if you're worried that you're not spending enough time with your dog, you can relax. Lois Crane's research confirms that you can safely leave your pet overnight in the bedroom. This will even have a positive effect on the quality of your sleep. Don't forget to set your dog's limits: it's best not to take him to bed after all.