You know that phrase, "don't knock it 'til you've tried it"? Well, you're going to want to pull that phrase out of your back pocket, because I'm about to knock something many people hold dear to their hearts: Sleeping with animals. I'm not talking about co-sleeping with toddlers. I'm talking about sleeping with your dogs and cats. HOW? How do you do this? I can understand a small dog or a cat snoozing at the foot of your bed, on top of the covers. But people who sleep with their pets next to them, under the covers. Ugh! That sounds like the worst -- and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Science backs me up.
1. Co-sleeping with animals disturbs your sleep. A new survey found that 63 percent of people who sleep with their pets more than four nights a week have poor sleep quality. Doesn't matter if it's cats or dogs, animals will disturb your sleep. On the other hand, some people claim they feel comforted by the warm presence of their pets so close. Maybe it's worth the disruptions?
2. Sharing a bed with your pets can kill you. No really! The CDC says animals can pass on lethal diseases like MRSA when you sleep with them or let them lick you or when you kiss them.
3. Pets shed. So do humans, but we don't have hair all over our bodies. How do pet co-sleepers deal with this? Do you wash your sheets every day, or do you just get used to a hairy bed?
4. Animals smell funky. No matter how clean they are, animals have a certain smell, and I do not want to sleep with that smell in my nose. But who knows, maybe pet owners love the smell of their animals. But dog and cat smell is not my idea of nighttime aromatherapy.
5. It's hard enough to sleep with other humans. I'm kind of a light sleeper, so when the person next to me rolls over, snores, even sighs sometimes, I wake up. Adding an animal to the mix just means more waking up. And if I had to choose between the two, I'm going with the human.
Do you sleep with your pets? Do you think it's a good idea?
Image via Victor Gregory/Flickr