Do you sleep with your pets?

Sleeping with a cat in the room can be very annoying and disturbing if the cat goes from lying peacefully on your feet, to lying peacefully on your face. Or meowing not so peacefully to be let out. Scratching the door to be let back in. If you are a pet lover, whether it be dog, cat, or something else, you probably sleep with your pet. The good news is that sleeping with your bed makes you warmer, happier when you wake up, and might even help you sleep better. The bad news is that it’s not very hygienic: pets can cause allergies and illnesses and might be disturbing your sleep rather than helping you sleep better – depending on the pet.

There is research that shows that sleeping with pets makes us feel calmer, comforted, and safe. That warm presence at your feet has a very reassuring feel about it. Knowing that your pet is there with you, and especially now that it’s cold at night, feeling their warmth, is a great feeling. It’s comforting for the pet too, especially for those whose owners are away all day at work and so on, because they get to spend a few hours close to their owner. It makes for better bonding, a better relationship, and better sleep for both owner and pet.

However, if you are someone who struggles with hay fever, you may not know it, but it could be your pet’s fault. Dust mites are tiny organisms that nest in mattresses and eat dead skin cells and shed hair. Their faeces is microscopic and, when breathed in, causes asthma and wheezy breathing. Your pet is providing them with more food than you ever could. Memory foam and latex mattresses are naturally antibacterial, and most modern mattresses are covered with antibacterial fabrics designed to keep our breathing clear, beds hygienic and bed bugs at bay. Some beds have even gone so far as to weave their fabric with a technology that releases negative ions, the atoms in freshly recharged oxygen, to help you sleep better and be more refreshed on them. Silentnight has its bamboo (organic) fabric woven with silver to keep bacteria away from your sleeping surface

. All these efforts are basically useless if overwhelmed by the bacteria and dirt your pet brings with them on their fur (and that is a lot more than you’d expect).

The bacteria aside, pets can also be very disturbing to a good night’s rest. Cats that want to be let in and out, dogs barking at sounds they hear outside, simply sleeping in strange places which bother you, wake you, make you uncomfortable, or even kick you out of bed! I remember sleeping at a house where 4 dogs all started the night on the bed with me and had various disputes during the night to kick each other off. Eventually, the biggest dog would be the only one left, and he’d slowly edge me off the bed too. That did not make me sleep well at all!

The choice whether you decide to let your pet sleep with you or not is a tossup between bacteria and comfort. If your pet bothers you during the night, rather get them their own comfortable and warm bed, and get the rest you need. If you are considering a new bed, especially something made with latex or memory foam like a Genessi or Cloud Nine mattress, or you are going for something with antibacterial fabric like the Silentnight bed brand, then perhaps it’s time to kick your pet off the bed, as hard as that would be.

For all your mattress and linen needs, call The Mattress Warehouse on 0861 007 000 today, or you can order your new bed online on our website, and choose to make a bank payment or pay on delivery with your card. Delivery is free! Happy sleeping!