How stress can affect your dog's sleep and health

2018-10-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

Just like us, dogs can get too stressed for a good night’s sleep, according to recent research by European scientists. A study into canine anxiety revealed that negative experiences can adversely impact your pet’s ability to relax — but what does this mean for you and your pet?

Rest is vital for mental, emotional and physical wellbeing, we’ve looked further into the findings of this interesting study, as well as how you can ensure your dog is happy and stress-free when they head to bed.

In 2017, a canine study showed that anxiety affects the quality of a dog’s sleep — much like a bad day at work can affect ours. Researchers monitoring the test discovered that negative actions caused the participating dogs to have a fitful sleep that they awoke quickly from, while the pooches that enjoyed more positive experiences managed an hour of deep, consistent napping.

So, how did researchers fairly examine the impact of anxiety on dogs? To test the effect of stress on canine sleep, some of the dogs received ‘positive’ experiences before sleeping, while the others endured ‘negative’ experiences prior to resting (all dogs were subjected to both types of experiences). After monitoring the sleeping brainwaves of the canines, researchers came to the conclusion that anxiety plays a part in the ability of a dog to relax and rest. This study took place over three hours and involved a mix of 16 dogs, including a Labrador Retriever and boxer (among several other breeds).

One of the main challenges of the experiment was to determine what a ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ experience was to a dog. Scientists decided that the ‘positive’ factors would include petting, attention and playing games, while ‘negative’ factors would involve isolation from their owners and being approached menacingly. Typically, dogs that received a ‘good’ experience managed around an hour of deep, non-REM sleep. Conversely, ‘bad’ experiences caused the dogs to have only around 40-50 minutes of non-REM sleep.

But what is REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and why is it important?
REM sleep is the more active, lighter resting stage consisting of increased heart rate and quicker breathing, while non-REM is a deeper sleeping stage that provides optimum rest and more regular breathing and heart rates. Although REM sleep takes up around 20%-25% of overall sleep time in adult humans, it’s important that we achieve the non-REM stage in order to get what we’d refer to as a ‘decent night’s sleep’, free of tossing and turning.

"We found dogs get less deep sleep after a negative experience. It suggests that, just like humans have a bad night’s sleep after a difficult day, dogs may have a similar problem," commented Dr. Anna Kis, the study’s research leader.

Were there any other interesting findings as a result of this study? Although it may seem odd, researchers found that dogs that had received negative experiences actually feel asleep quicker than the dogs that enjoyed a nicer pre-sleep experience. Dr. Kis, explained: "In humans, stress causes difficulty falling asleep, whereas dogs fall asleep more quickly — we think as a protective measure to remove themselves from the stressful environment."

Non-REM sleep is crucial to receiving adequate rest for a healthy body and mind, and this study highlights how negative experiences can adversely affect a dog’s wellbeing.

It’s clear from this 2017 study that ensuring your dog is stress-free can help them enjoy better sleep, which may lead to improved, all-round health. But how do we know when our pets are anxious? Here are a few typical indicators that your dog is feeling the strain and that you may need to intervene:

Article By: Ryan Burnyeat

Dog Training Secrets

How stress can affect your dog's sleep and health