Letting your dog sleep on your bed could help you get a better night's rest

Just in case you need another excuse to get a dog, add this to the list!

It's often said that a dog is a man (or woman)'s best friend. They can lift your mood, they're pretty much always happy to see you and love to shower their owners with endless affection.

Not only can our canine friends bring lots of happiness to the family, but a new study has shown that if you let your dog sleep on the bed, you could be in for a much better night's rest.

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During the study, 962 women living in the US were observed to see how sharing a bed with their dogs overnight affected their sleeping patterns and behaviour.

Within the study, entitled “An Examination of Adult Women’s Sleep Quality and Sleep Routines in Relation to Pet Ownership and Bedsharing”,  55 per cent of the women let their pooches on the bed to snuggle next to them.

A total of 57 per cent of the participants shared their bed with a partner as well, and 31 per cent had one cat snuggling up to them.

The results revealed that even though our furry friends will often wiggle around, take up your side of the bed and snore louder than any human, the comfort of having them next to you trumps not having them there.

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Out of dogs, cats, and partners it was dogs that came out on top as being the least “disruptive” when sleeping next to the women, with some participants in the study saying it was a “dream” to share a bed with their pooch.

So, next time your partner moans when you let the dog on the bed, you now have evidence that it’s the secret to a better night's sleep.

Throw the dogs bed away and get your furry friend to join you for 40 winks.

Words by Leanne Carr