Tired? It's Probably Your Pet's Fault, Study Shows
A new survey shows that Americans love their pets, but lost sleep and time spent worrying about them is a part of pet ownership.
In mining existing data concerning critters and their humans, Forbes reported 66 percent of American households, which comes to 86.9 million homes, have a pet.
Dogs are still king, being found in 65.1 million homes, while cats are in second place at 46.5 million households. Freshwater fish were third on the list at 11.1 million households.
As with anything worthwhile, there are worries.
A new study reports that 39 percent of people who participated in a recent survey said worry over pets costs them more than 11 hours of sleep per week, according to Study Finds, which noted the survey was conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Tractive.
The survey of 2,000 cat and dog owners, which was taken Nov. 8 and 9, found that on average pet owners have 72 pet panics per year.
The leading cause for panic was an unexpected bout of vomiting, cited by 52 percent of those surveyed, followed by a fall off a chair or couch, cited by 48 percent.
Other top concerns included getting off their leash, cited by 45 percent of respondents; not eating a meal, cited by 43 percent; not coming when called, 28 percent, and a lack of interest in their toys, mentioned by 18 percent of respondents.
During the hours per day respondents said they were parted from Fido or Fluffy, the top concern was that a pet is getting into something that has been forbidden, a worry shared by 68 percent of those responding.
Other concerns included whether a pet was sad its owner was gone, cited by 47 percent of respondents, or hungry, cited by 45 percent of respondents.
A 2022 survey of pet owners conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Serta Simmons Bedding reported that 36 percent of pet owners surveyed said pet noises wake them at least twice a week, according to Best Life.
The survey said 30 percent of those who took part said their pet takes too much space in the bed for their comfort.
“Do you really let your dog sleep in the bed with you??”
My dog: pic.twitter.com/Wu9gzrU25S
— Feelings シ (@iHad2GoGetit) December 29, 2022
Another survey showed 46 percent of those responding share their bed with a pet, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
That survey found that 46 percent say they sleep better with their animal friend on the bed, while 19 percent said they slept worse with their pet on the bed.
The survey, which was taken in 2022 by Atomik Research and reported a margin of error of two percentage points, found that 53 percent of Gen Z members either always, almost always or sometimes slept with a pet, higher than the 36 percent posted by Baby Boomers.
“Healthy sleep looks different from person to person. Many pet owners take comfort in having pets nearby and sleep better with their companion by their sides,” said Dr. Andrea Matsumura, a sleep specialist in Portland, Oregon.
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