About Sanaphay Rattanavong

While your heart might be saying "yes" to pet co-sleeping, your sleep tracker might be telling a different story. A major 2024 study of 1,600 adults found something that might surprise you: people who sleep with their pets—especially dogs—tend to report worse sleep quality and more severe insomnia symptoms.

In Seattle, a Sheepadoodle called Bunny steps onto a plastic soundboard and presses two buttons: “I dog” … “we friend.” Millions have watched the clip, and more than 10,000 households in 47 countries now take part in the citizen‑science project that sprang from it.

When we grasp zero, we treat absence as a measurable value that can be ranked, compared, and reasoned with. Cognitive scientists once thought only humans could do this. New experiments show otherwise.

Dogs and cats sweat only through their paw pads and noses. Most cooling happens by panting, which moves warm air out but is far less efficient than whole‑body sweating. Flat‑faced brachycephalic breeds—pugs and bulldogs, for example—have shortened airways and struggle even more. High humidity slows evaporation, so a muggy 77°F (25°C) day can still be risky.