Sleep-wake cycles and other night-time behaviours of the domestic dog Canis familiaris

Adams, G.J.; Johnson, Ken

doi:10.1016/0168-1591(93)90013-f

Cited by 50 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…We examined how often dogs and humans were in an active state and whether the movement of one bed partner had any relationship to the movement of the other to further investigate the relationship between dog and human nighttime activity. Dogs were in an active state nearly three times as often as their human bed partners, which is to be expected given differences in dogs' and humans' sleep-wake cycles [38]. Half of all human movements co-occurred with dog movements, whereas only 18% of all dog movements co-occurred with human movements.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Human-Animal Co-Sleeping: An Actigraphy-Based Assessment of Dogs’ Impacts on Women’s Nighttime Movements

Hoffman

Browne

Smith

2020

Animals

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Simple Summary: Humans commonly share their beds with companion animals, yet little is known regarding how pets impact sleep. In survey-based studies, pet owners report that their dogs favorably affect sleep quality, but prior actigraphy-based studies of human-dog co-sleeping have concluded the practice can lead to sleep arousals and disturbances and, thus, reduce sleep efficiency (i.e., the ratio of time spent asleep in a night as compared to the time spent in bed). We examined actigraphy data from women and dogs and sleep diary data to investigate the apparent disconnect between objective and subjective reports regarding dogs' effects on sleep. We also analyzed data minute-by-minute to assess whether dog movement impacted the likelihood the human would transition from an inactive to active state. We found associations between human and dog movement over sleep periods and that dogs influenced human movement more than humans influenced dog movement. Humans were largely unaware of their dog's nighttime movements, and they rarely reported that their dog awakened them during the night. Additional research on more diverse samples and studies that use polysomnography and behavioral observations are necessary for developing a better understanding of how pets affect the quality of human sleep.Abstract: Humans regularly enter into co-sleeping arrangements with human and non-human partners. Studies of adults who co-sleep report that co-sleeping can impact sleep quality, particularly for women. Although dog owners often choose to bedshare with their dogs, we know relatively little about the nature of these relationships, nor the extent to which co-sleeping might interfere with sleep quality or quantity. In an effort to rectify this, we selected a sample of 12 adult female human (M = 50.8 years) and dog dyads, and monitored their activity using actigraphy. We collected movement data in one-minute epochs for each sleep period for an average of 10 nights per participant. This resulted in 124 nights of data, covering 54,533 observations (M = 7.3 hours per night). In addition, we collected subjective sleep diary data from human participants. We found a significant positive relationship between human and dog movement over sleep periods, with dogs influencing human movement more than humans influenced dog movement. Dog movement accompanied approximately 50% of human movement observations, and dog movement tripled the likelihood of the human transitioning from a non-moving state to a moving state. Nevertheless, humans rarely reported that their dog disrupted their sleep. We encourage the continued exploration of human-animal co-sleeping in all its facets and provide recommendations for future research in this area.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Human-Animal Co-Sleeping: An Actigraphy-Based Assessment of Dogs’ Impacts on Women’s Nighttime Movements

Hoffman

Browne

Smith

2020

Animals

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“…This may reflect the fact that rural dogs are more likely to bark during the night at non-threatening stimuli such as wildlife or farm animals moving about and consequently owners have become desensitised to some degree. Barking in inner city and suburban areas at night may be more likely to signify the presence of intruders (Adams and Johnson 1993).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A survey of public attitudes towards barking dogs in New Zealand

Flint

Minot

et al. 2014

New Zealand Veterinary Journal

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Barking was considered to be potentially disturbing by respondents to this survey. Attitudes towards barking were most influenced by age, dog ownership, past experience with dogs and attitude towards dog bites. Public understanding of the possible reasons for barking and appropriate methods of managing the behaviour when it becomes a problem could be improved by better education and the provision of information through veterinary clinics and social media.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dogs follow a diurnal circadian rhythm [ 27 ] but the percentage of time spent asleep depends on the population of dogs studied. Unrestricted dogs slept during 60% of the night, whilst dogs entering a barren research facility slept for over 80% of the night [ 27 ] and dogs in a modern research facility, where environmental enrichment was provided, slept between 60–71% of the night and 30–37% of the day [ 28 ]. Other factors that appear to influence sleep in dogs include diet and frequency of feeding [ 29 ], changes in housing conditions [ 27 ], changes in working routine [ 30 ] and activity levels during the day [ 31 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Sleep and Resting Behaviours Be Used as Indicators of Welfare in Shelter Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)?

Owczarczak‐Garstecka

Burman

2016

PLoS ONE

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Previous research on humans and animals suggests that the analysis of sleep patterns may reliably inform us about welfare status, but little research of this kind has been carried out for non-human animals in an applied context. This study explored the use of sleep and resting behaviour as indicators of welfare by describing the activity patterns of dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) housed in rescue shelters, and comparing their sleep patterns to other behavioural and cognitive measures of welfare. Sleep and activity patterns were observed over five non-consecutive days in a population of 15 dogs. Subsequently, the characteristics of sleep and resting behaviour were described and the impact of activity on patterns of sleep and resting behaviour analysed. Shelter dogs slept for 2.8% of the day, 14.3% less than previously reported and experienced less sleep fragmentation at night (32 sleep bouts). There were no statistically significant relationships between behaviours exhibited during the day and sleep behaviour. A higher proportion of daytime resting behaviour was significantly associated with a positive judgement bias, less repetitive behaviour and increased time spent coded as ‘relaxed’ across days by shelter staff. These results suggest that, in the context of a busy shelter environment, the ability to rest more during the day could be a sign of improved welfare. Considering the non-linear relationship between sleep and welfare in humans, the relationship between sleep and behavioural indicators of welfare, including judgement bias, in shelter dogs may be more complex than this study could detect.

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Sleep-wake cycles and other night-time behaviours of the domestic dog Canis familiaris

Cited by 50 publications

References 8 publications

Human-Animal Co-Sleeping: An Actigraphy-Based Assessment of Dogs’ Impacts on Women’s Nighttime Movements

Human-Animal Co-Sleeping: An Actigraphy-Based Assessment of Dogs’ Impacts on Women’s Nighttime Movements

A survey of public attitudes towards barking dogs in New Zealand

Can Sleep and Resting Behaviours Be Used as Indicators of Welfare in Shelter Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)?

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