Pets and sleep problems
Question:
Well, *grin* in my opinion (which I’m currently modifying as I type) you’re not a mother to a bare kitten but you are a "mother" of Soncek. And while I’m here, it’s not necessarily maternal instincts, but paternal as well. Regardless the role, and the part I’m modifying, you don’t have to be a mother, only have a dependent living with you that you care deeply for and those instincts kick in. Be it child, animal, or in some cases elderly parent. Grace
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m not a mother, but when Soncek threw up at 5 am, I was wide awake in no time at all (it was the regurgitation thing, nothing serious, he was probably stressed out because of the d*mn firecrackers around New Year’s Eve). Now I can sleep more soundly because I know that if something is wrong with Soncek I am sure to wake up really quickly. Soncek doesn’t sleep on my bed (even though I’d like him to), he sleeps on his chair near my bed. But if I wake up or can’t go to sleep at night (I have frequent bouts of insomnia), he comes and lies on my tummy and soothingly purrs for me, he is just wonderful that way. Good night everyone 
— Polonca & Soncek Yes, yes, oh yes I agree with this opinion!! As most know, Mutt had severe ligament trauma to her back leg last summer. She had surgery. She’s not able to jump certain jumps too well. She can leap, but a straight jump isn’t easy. From the floor to the mattress has been a very difficult jump for her. And I don’t know if it’s because I’m a mother, or not. Normally, when a mother has a newborn in the house, she’s attuned to every change of breath that the baby makes in his/her crib, every whimper, every movement. It’s part of what lets us wake up out of a deep sleep after a 45 minute snooze just to do it all over again. <snip If You’re Dog Tired, Your Dog May Be Guilty By Jeanie Davis WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson <snip
Response:
On the counter side of this, I can’t actually fall asleep unless HRFL is curled up on my legs. That’s why I sleep so badly when I got to Belize for short trips. 
If HRFL (or even Robbie) is curled up next to me, I fall asleep instantly – If they are not, I fidget until they come to bed. Helen M — Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server – http://www.Mailgate.ORG
Response:
I’m the same way. Mutt sometimes jumps in bed but doesn’t get close to me, I’ll deviously touch her with a toe and after her snarling she’ll move to where my feet can’t touch her… around the rump and back area, pressed tight 
She helps an anormous amount when DH is out of town. I’ve a very jittery person when he’s gone and it helps to have a peaceful snoring dog beside me when I think I hear things that go bump. I’ll never have an attack/guard dog, but for as long as he goes OOT I believe I’ll always have a loving family protective dog in the house at night.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On the counter side of this, I can’t actually fall asleep unless HRFL is curled up on my legs. That’s why I sleep so badly when I got to Belize for short trips. If HRFL (or even Robbie) is curled up next to me, I fall asleep instantly – If they are not, I fidget until they come to bed. Helen M — Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server – http://www.Mailgate.ORG
Response:
Me too! I never sleep well on our trips, and never sleep well at home either unless Vino is in the bed with me. I just toss and turn until he comes in, usually about 10-30 min after I turn the lights out. — Britta Check out pictures of Vino at: http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on Vino and "friends" album
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On the counter side of this, I can’t actually fall asleep unless HRFL is curled up on my legs. That’s why I sleep so badly when I got to Belize for short trips. If HRFL (or even Robbie) is curled up next to me, I fall asleep instantly – If they are not, I fidget until they come to bed. Helen M — Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server – http://www.Mailgate.ORG
Response:
Me too! I never sleep well on our trips, and never sleep well at home either unless Vino is in the bed with me. I just toss and turn until he comes in, usually about 10-30 min after I turn the lights out.
I usually have at least 2 cats on the bed and maybe one on the perch or chair. Then they join me once I get in bed. But sometimes they are somewhere else in the house and I will call them as I swing into bed. I relax as they get into their respective places, sometimes with a snarl or a whap at someone trying to steal the premier spot at my belly. I drift off to sleep with all this normality. But if one doesn’t come, my subconcious knows it and after a certain amount of time, I will suddenly bolt upright,,"Where’s my cat?" Then I get up and go looking until I find the wayward one. Then we can settle down together. Last fall after a blizzard I didn’t make it home and had to spend the night in a motel. I felt so lonely and couldn’t sleep soundly. I catnapped all night with wakeful periods watching muted tv. It was the longest night. The next night at home all the cats piled against me so I couldn’t move. I think they were trying to make sure I didn’t leave them alone again. I slept soundly and peacefully and so happy. CATherine
Response:
Awww, they were missing you just as much as you missed them. I remember you posting about the blizzard and am so happy you made it home safely (even if you had to wait a day to do so). Best wishes that no more blizzards come your way and you have to be separated from your loving kitties, — Polonca & Soncek
<snip Last fall after a blizzard I didn’t make it home and had to spend the – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – night in a motel. I felt so lonely and couldn’t sleep soundly. I catnapped all night with wakeful periods watching muted tv. It was the longest night. The next night at home all the cats piled against me so I couldn’t move. I think they were trying to make sure I didn’t leave them alone again. I slept soundly and peacefully and so happy. CATherine
Response:
On the counter side of this, I can’t actually fall asleep unless HRFL is curled up on my legs. That’s why I sleep so badly when I got to Belize for short trips. If HRFL (or even Robbie) is curled up next to me, I fall asleep instantly – If they are not, I fidget until they come to bed.
I’m exactly the same, which is why I was so tired all last week while away from home. Just couldn’t get a full night’s sleep without the cats. Usually Nikki comes to bed with me in the evening. Frank sleeps on a chair, but sometime during the night he gets into bed. Then Nikki leaves, and it’s only Frank in bed in the morning. But last night, our first night together since I went abroad, they both came to bed with me in the evening, and stayed until morning. Nice! I think they missed me. — Marina
Response:
Of course they missed you. They missed you even more than we did here at rpca. — Polonca thinking that Soncek might miss her also if she went away for more than a day & Soncek who knows that Polonca will miss him more than he will miss her
<snip But last night, our first – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – night together since I went abroad, they both came to bed with me in the evening, and stayed until morning. Nice! I think they missed me. — Marina
Response:
Deep within the Vaults, the silver kitty brushes dust from a post 21:31:44 -0600 and contemplates it at length before replying: (I’m catching up on VERY old messages…) In saying that, Mutt’s appearance on the side of our bed wakes me out of a sound sleep. Her collar tags jingle, she hops up on her back legs and her front paws are on the mattress. Three and four times a night this can go on. I wake up each and every single time because I know how difficult it would be for her to get back in bed without my help. Not to mention the vet has requested I let her jump as little as possible due to her surgery procedure. *grin* It’s like spending the next 6+ years with a newborn LOL Grace who is looking for a ladder of sorts for Mutt
Did you ever find Mutt an easy way to get up to the bed? What about just putting a footstool down by the base where you won’t trip over it. Would that give her enough lift? She could use it as a step so she only had to make jumps half as high and you could all get some rest! [huggles] — Karen AKA Kajikit You can take the dragon out of Alfandra, but you can never take Alfandra out of the dragon (or the Kitty)… Come and visit my part of the web: Kajikit’s Corner: http://Kajikit.netfirms.com/ Aussie Support Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AussieSupport Allergyfree Eating Recipe Swap: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Allergyfree_Eating Love and huggles to all!
Response:
ROFLOL! Really sorry about your pains, John, but can’t help laughing. And I agree, I’d still want Soncek to sleep with me (he doesn’t). Best wishes, — Polonca & Soncek
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Duh. Pretty obvious to me. Maya must be petted before going to bed at least 10 to 15 minutes a night. Saturday she decided at 5:25 AM I should let her outside so she punched me on the nose. (I am still gaga over the effrontery of a 10 pound cat punching a 200 pound man and knowing she could get away with it) Tuesday I had to lock her out of the bedroom. She was so aggressively chasing the bed mice she actually scratched me through a comforter. When she pounced on them from a chest of drawers it was too much and out she went. But I still love that she sleeps with me. If You’re Dog Tired, Your Dog May Be Guilty By Jeanie Davis WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson advertisement
<snip
Response:
Duh. Pretty obvious to me. Maya must be petted before going to bed at least 10 to 15 minutes a night. Saturday she decided at 5:25 AM I should let her outside so she punched me on the nose. (I am still gaga over the effrontery of a 10 pound cat punching a 200 pound man and knowing she could get away with it) Tuesday I had to lock her out of the bedroom. She was so aggressively chasing the bed mice she actually scratched me through a comforter. When she pounced on them from a chest of drawers it was too much and out she went. But I still love that she sleeps with me.
When Melisande decides to chase after Patches in the middle of the night, she takes a "shortcut" over the bed and across my stomach (sometimes several times in a row). If the first time doesn’t get me fully awake, the third or fourth is guaranteed to! (She only weighs a "normal" amount for an adult cat so I guess I should be glad they don’t don’t reverse the order – Patches weighs between sixteen and nineteen pounds.) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – If You’re Dog Tired, Your Dog May Be Guilty By Jeanie Davis WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson advertisement Email to a friend Printer-friendly version Feb. 21, 2002 — Got a cat that sleeps on your head? A dog you’re letting out every night? Those needy beasts may be costing you more than they should — in terms of lost sleep, that is. Dogs and cats, it turns out, are one of the biggest causes of humans’ sleep problems. At the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, 53% of patients said pets played a big role in their sleep problems; 22% had pets sleeping on the bed with them. "That’s a significant number," says John Shepard, MD, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center. All kinds of environmental things play havoc with the quality of our sleep — a ticking clock, too much light, high humidity, temperature too cold or too hot — but Shepard tuned into pets after one discussion with a patient. She got up in the middle of the night to let the dog out, waiting up to 15 minutes for the critter. "After hearing that anecdote, I began to wonder how many of my patients were sleeping with pets and how much the pet interrupted sleep," he says. In the course of regular checkups, Shepard questioned 300 patients about their pets — asking whether the animals shared the bed. He found that: 157 of patients (52%) had one or more pets, largely cats and dogs. Nearly 60% allowed pets to sleep in the bedroom. Cats were more likely than dogs to be allowed in the bedroom and on the bed. If they were allowed in the bedroom, dogs had 57% chance of being allowed onto the bed. Some of the pets snored: 21% of dogs and 7% of cats. Only 1% of patients felt their sleep was disrupted for more than 20 minutes per night on average. Whether pet owners were really up-front about their pets’ habits, he’s not sure — but he says he suspects the problem may be far worse than owners admit. "Some people are very attached to their pets and will tolerate poorer sleep in order to be near them at night," he says. But the problem may be not the animal’s habits — but the animal itself, says Max Hirshkowitz, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and medicine and director of the Sleep Disorder and Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston. Very often, it’s an allergic reaction to cat dander that’s causing the human to wake up, he tells WebMD. "[The allergy] may be causing a breathing problem, but people don’t realize it. Cats have lots of dander. People may not feel any reaction when the cat is just in the house, but when it’s in the same bed, near you for hours and hours, that makes the reaction worse." Animal allergies are indeed a big cause of humans’ sleep problems, says Richard Castriotta, MD, a sleep disorders expert at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. His study of 800 patients with sleep disorders found that 53% were suffering from allergies. If allergies are the problem, "it’s an easy thing to fix," he says. "Get the animal out of the room." After all, allergy medication won’t help you sleep any better if the pet is still on the bed, says Badar Syed, a neurologist and co-director of sleep disorders center at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. "If the pet continues sleeping with them, they’re still going to wake up." "I see it all the time in my clinic," Syed tells WebMD. "People describe sleep disturbance because of pets, but they don’t realize exactly what’s happening." Nevertheless, if Fluffy or Fido continues to disrupt your sleep, you need to do something about it. "Chronic sleep deprivation is major problem in our society," says Syed. "It causes serious daytime sleepiness and increased risk of motor vehicle accidents. The latest data shows that more people die sleeping behind wheel than from drinking and driving." Sleep disruption also affects memory, concentration, and work performance, he says. "It’s a vicious cycle." If you don’t have pet allergies — if the animal is simply bugging you too much — "get a bigger bed," advises Castriotta. Many people just live with it. "Some people just adapt to the sleep disruptions and consider that to be totally normal."
Response:
Duh. Pretty obvious to me. Maya must be petted before going to bed at least 10 to 15 minutes a night. Saturday she decided at 5:25 AM I should let her outside so she punched me on the nose. (I am still gaga over the effrontery of a 10 pound cat punching a 200 pound man and knowing she could get away with it) Tuesday I had to lock her out of the bedroom. She was so aggressively chasing the bed mice she actually scratched me through a comforter. When she pounced on them from a chest of drawers it was too much and out she went. But I still love that she sleeps with me.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – If You’re Dog Tired, Your Dog May Be Guilty By Jeanie Davis WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson advertisement Email to a friend Printer-friendly version Feb. 21, 2002 — Got a cat that sleeps on your head? A dog you’re letting out every night? Those needy beasts may be costing you more than they should — in terms of lost sleep, that is. Dogs and cats, it turns out, are one of the biggest causes of humans’ sleep problems. At the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, 53% of patients said pets played a big role in their sleep problems; 22% had pets sleeping on the bed with them. "That’s a significant number," says John Shepard, MD, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center. All kinds of environmental things play havoc with the quality of our sleep — a ticking clock, too much light, high humidity, temperature too cold or too hot — but Shepard tuned into pets after one discussion with a patient. She got up in the middle of the night to let the dog out, waiting up to 15 minutes for the critter. "After hearing that anecdote, I began to wonder how many of my patients were sleeping with pets and how much the pet interrupted sleep," he says. In the course of regular checkups, Shepard questioned 300 patients about their pets — asking whether the animals shared the bed. He found that: 157 of patients (52%) had one or more pets, largely cats and dogs. Nearly 60% allowed pets to sleep in the bedroom. Cats were more likely than dogs to be allowed in the bedroom and on the bed. If they were allowed in the bedroom, dogs had 57% chance of being allowed onto the bed. Some of the pets snored: 21% of dogs and 7% of cats. Only 1% of patients felt their sleep was disrupted for more than 20 minutes per night on average. Whether pet owners were really up-front about their pets’ habits, he’s not sure — but he says he suspects the problem may be far worse than owners admit. "Some people are very attached to their pets and will tolerate poorer sleep in order to be near them at night," he says. But the problem may be not the animal’s habits — but the animal itself, says Max Hirshkowitz, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and medicine and director of the Sleep Disorder and Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston. Very often, it’s an allergic reaction to cat dander that’s causing the human to wake up, he tells WebMD. "[The allergy] may be causing a breathing problem, but people don’t realize it. Cats have lots of dander. People may not feel any reaction when the cat is just in the house, but when it’s in the same bed, near you for hours and hours, that makes the reaction worse." Animal allergies are indeed a big cause of humans’ sleep problems, says Richard Castriotta, MD, a sleep disorders expert at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. His study of 800 patients with sleep disorders found that 53% were suffering from allergies. If allergies are the problem, "it’s an easy thing to fix," he says. "Get the animal out of the room." After all, allergy medication won’t help you sleep any better if the pet is still on the bed, says Badar Syed, a neurologist and co-director of sleep disorders center at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. "If the pet continues sleeping with them, they’re still going to wake up." "I see it all the time in my clinic," Syed tells WebMD. "People describe sleep disturbance because of pets, but they don’t realize exactly what’s happening." Nevertheless, if Fluffy or Fido continues to disrupt your sleep, you need to do something about it. "Chronic sleep deprivation is major problem in our society," says Syed. "It causes serious daytime sleepiness and increased risk of motor vehicle accidents. The latest data shows that more people die sleeping behind wheel than from drinking and driving." Sleep disruption also affects memory, concentration, and work performance, he says. "It’s a vicious cycle." If you don’t have pet allergies — if the animal is simply bugging you too much — "get a bigger bed," advises Castriotta. Many people just live with it. "Some people just adapt to the sleep disruptions and consider that to be totally normal."
Response:
If You’re Dog Tired, Your Dog May Be Guilty By Jeanie Davis
This is so true. It’s that time of year again, when the dawn chorus starts earlier and earlier, and Ripley just HAS to go out and investigate. He would tear the door down if we didn’t let him out. Jeanette
Response:
From the floor to the mattress has been a very difficult jump for her.
Have you considered maybe making a stairway to the mattress out of boxes or something so she can easily walk up without waking you? Also, my neighbor had a cat with tons of jingly expired metal tags on her collar. She’d scratch outside my window and keep me up at night. Soooo, one night I went outside, got the cat, took off the 5 year old tags from a state 2,000 miles away, gave her a new collar with her name/number written on it and finally got some rest. I also put advantage on her for the fleas and put some soothing cat spray where she was scratching. I was finally able to get some sleep and the kitty was happier also.
Response:
I’m not a mother, but when Soncek threw up at 5 am, I was wide awake in no time at all (it was the regurgitation thing, nothing serious, he was probably stressed out because of the d*mn firecrackers around New Year’s Eve). Now I can sleep more soundly because I know that if something is wrong with Soncek I am sure to wake up really quickly. Soncek doesn’t sleep on my bed (even though I’d like him to), he sleeps on his chair near my bed. But if I wake up or can’t go to sleep at night (I have frequent bouts of insomnia), he comes and lies on my tummy and soothingly purrs for me, he is just wonderful that way. Good night everyone — Polonca & Soncek
Yes, yes, oh yes I agree with this opinion!! As most know, Mutt had severe ligament trauma to her back leg last summer. She had surgery. She’s not able to jump certain jumps too well. She can leap, but a straight jump isn’t easy. From the floor to the mattress has been a very difficult jump for her. And I don’t know if it’s because I’m a mother, or not. Normally, when a mother has a newborn in the house, she’s attuned to every change of breath that the baby makes in his/her crib, every whimper, every movement. It’s part of what lets us wake up out of a deep sleep after a 45 minute snooze just to do it all over again.
<snip – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – If You’re Dog Tired, Your Dog May Be Guilty By Jeanie Davis WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson <snip
Response:
Yes, yes, oh yes I agree with this opinion!! As most know, Mutt had severe ligament trauma to her back leg last summer. She had surgery. She’s not able to jump certain jumps too well. She can leap, but a straight jump isn’t easy. From the floor to the mattress has been a very difficult jump for her. And I don’t know if it’s because I’m a mother, or not. Normally, when a mother has a newborn in the house, she’s attuned to every change of breath that the baby makes in his/her crib, every whimper, every movement. It’s part of what lets us wake up out of a deep sleep after a 45 minute snooze just to do it all over again. In saying that, Mutt’s appearance on the side of our bed wakes me out of a sound sleep. Her collar tags jingle, she hops up on her back legs and her front paws are on the mattress. Three and four times a night this can go on. I wake up each and every single time because I know how difficult it would be for her to get back in bed without my help. Not to mention the vet has requested I let her jump as little as possible due to her surgery procedure. *grin* It’s like spending the next 6+ years with a newborn LOL Grace who is looking for a ladder of sorts for Mutt
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – If You’re Dog Tired, Your Dog May Be Guilty By Jeanie Davis WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson advertisement Email to a friend Printer-friendly version Feb. 21, 2002 — Got a cat that sleeps on your head? A dog you’re letting out every night? Those needy beasts may be costing you more than they should — in terms of lost sleep, that is. Dogs and cats, it turns out, are one of the biggest causes of humans’ sleep problems. At the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, 53% of patients said pets played a big role in their sleep problems; 22% had pets sleeping on the bed with them. "That’s a significant number," says John Shepard, MD, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center. All kinds of environmental things play havoc with the quality of our sleep — a ticking clock, too much light, high humidity, temperature too cold or too hot — but Shepard tuned into pets after one discussion with a patient. She got up in the middle of the night to let the dog out, waiting up to 15 minutes for the critter. "After hearing that anecdote, I began to wonder how many of my patients were sleeping with pets and how much the pet interrupted sleep," he says. In the course of regular checkups, Shepard questioned 300 patients about their pets — asking whether the animals shared the bed. He found that: 157 of patients (52%) had one or more pets, largely cats and dogs. Nearly 60% allowed pets to sleep in the bedroom. Cats were more likely than dogs to be allowed in the bedroom and on the bed. If they were allowed in the bedroom, dogs had 57% chance of being allowed onto the bed. Some of the pets snored: 21% of dogs and 7% of cats. Only 1% of patients felt their sleep was disrupted for more than 20 minutes per night on average. Whether pet owners were really up-front about their pets’ habits, he’s not sure — but he says he suspects the problem may be far worse than owners admit. "Some people are very attached to their pets and will tolerate poorer sleep in order to be near them at night," he says. But the problem may be not the animal’s habits — but the animal itself, says Max Hirshkowitz, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and medicine and director of the Sleep Disorder and Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston. Very often, it’s an allergic reaction to cat dander that’s causing the human to wake up, he tells WebMD. "[The allergy] may be causing a breathing problem, but people don’t realize it. Cats have lots of dander. People may not feel any reaction when the cat is just in the house, but when it’s in the same bed, near you for hours and hours, that makes the reaction worse." Animal allergies are indeed a big cause of humans’ sleep problems, says Richard Castriotta, MD, a sleep disorders expert at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. His study of 800 patients with sleep disorders found that 53% were suffering from allergies. If allergies are the problem, "it’s an easy thing to fix," he says. "Get the animal out of the room." After all, allergy medication won’t help you sleep any better if the pet is still on the bed, says Badar Syed, a neurologist and co-director of sleep disorders center at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. "If the pet continues sleeping with them, they’re still going to wake up." "I see it all the time in my clinic," Syed tells WebMD. "People describe sleep disturbance because of pets, but they don’t realize exactly what’s happening." Nevertheless, if Fluffy or Fido continues to disrupt your sleep, you need to do something about it. "Chronic sleep deprivation is major problem in our society," says Syed. "It causes serious daytime sleepiness and increased risk of motor vehicle accidents. The latest data shows that more people die sleeping behind wheel than from drinking and driving." Sleep disruption also affects memory, concentration, and work performance, he says. "It’s a vicious cycle." If you don’t have pet allergies — if the animal is simply bugging you too much — "get a bigger bed," advises Castriotta. Many people just live with it. "Some people just adapt to the sleep disruptions and consider that to be totally normal."
Response:
If You’re Dog Tired, Your Dog May Be Guilty By Jeanie Davis WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson advertisement Email to a friend Printer-friendly version Feb. 21, 2002 — Got a cat that sleeps on your head? A dog you’re letting out every night? Those needy beasts may be costing you more than they should — in terms of lost sleep, that is. Dogs and cats, it turns out, are one of the biggest causes of humans’ sleep problems. At the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, 53% of patients said pets played a big role in their sleep problems; 22% had pets sleeping on the bed with them. "That’s a significant number," says John Shepard, MD, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center. All kinds of environmental things play havoc with the quality of our sleep — a ticking clock, too much light, high humidity, temperature too cold or too hot — but Shepard tuned into pets after one discussion with a patient. She got up in the middle of the night to let the dog out, waiting up to 15 minutes for the critter. "After hearing that anecdote, I began to wonder how many of my patients were sleeping with pets and how much the pet interrupted sleep," he says. In the course of regular checkups, Shepard questioned 300 patients about their pets — asking whether the animals shared the bed. He found that: 157 of patients (52%) had one or more pets, largely cats and dogs. Nearly 60% allowed pets to sleep in the bedroom. Cats were more likely than dogs to be allowed in the bedroom and on the bed. If they were allowed in the bedroom, dogs had 57% chance of being allowed onto the bed. Some of the pets snored: 21% of dogs and 7% of cats. Only 1% of patients felt their sleep was disrupted for more than 20 minutes per night on average. Whether pet owners were really up-front about their pets’ habits, he’s not sure — but he says he suspects the problem may be far worse than owners admit. "Some people are very attached to their pets and will tolerate poorer sleep in order to be near them at night," he says. But the problem may be not the animal’s habits — but the animal itself, says Max Hirshkowitz, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and medicine and director of the Sleep Disorder and Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston. Very often, it’s an allergic reaction to cat dander that’s causing the human to wake up, he tells WebMD. "[The allergy] may be causing a breathing problem, but people don’t realize it. Cats have lots of dander. People may not feel any reaction when the cat is just in the house, but when it’s in the same bed, near you for hours and hours, that makes the reaction worse." Animal allergies are indeed a big cause of humans’ sleep problems, says Richard Castriotta, MD, a sleep disorders expert at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. His study of 800 patients with sleep disorders found that 53% were suffering from allergies. If allergies are the problem, "it’s an easy thing to fix," he says. "Get the animal out of the room." After all, allergy medication won’t help you sleep any better if the pet is still on the bed, says Badar Syed, a neurologist and co-director of sleep disorders center at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. "If the pet continues sleeping with them, they’re still going to wake up." "I see it all the time in my clinic," Syed tells WebMD. "People describe sleep disturbance because of pets, but they don’t realize exactly what’s happening." Nevertheless, if Fluffy or Fido continues to disrupt your sleep, you need to do something about it. "Chronic sleep deprivation is major problem in our society," says Syed. "It causes serious daytime sleepiness and increased risk of motor vehicle accidents. The latest data shows that more people die sleeping behind wheel than from drinking and driving." Sleep disruption also affects memory, concentration, and work performance, he says. "It’s a vicious cycle." If you don’t have pet allergies — if the animal is simply bugging you too much — "get a bigger bed," advises Castriotta. Many people just live with it. "Some people just adapt to the sleep disruptions and consider that to be totally normal."
