![]() 5 There are several SA programs that include training of dogs for such purposes. Obstructive Sleep ApneaĪ case featured in a Houston Associated Press article in 1997 described a Chihuahua who would nudge or paw the patient when his PAP slipped off. Additionally, there is no universal requirement for who may train a dog or what the protocols should involve. Currently, there are several trainers advertising the training of service dogs for this purpose, though there are no statistics on how many dogs are in use today for this purpose, how many trainers are available for this purpose, or clear guidelines on the training techniques and goals. Though dogs have certainly been used for years to assist patients with sleep disorders, most of this use was undocumented and did not involve formally trained SAs until the past few years. Modalities discussed in this paper include: use of SAs to facilitate PAP use (and to diminish removal of the PAP at night) SAs to control nightmares in children SAs to assist in narcolepsy therapy and SAs to prevent wandering and injury in sleep walkers. ![]() Pets and/or SAs may truly be beneficial in the treatment of sleep disorders. However, this is not an evidence-based recommendation. Additionally, we automatically assume sleep disruption from co-sleeping with pets. Though the most common reaction of sleep professionals is to advise our patients against co-sleeping with pets, we fail to recognize that for many this is experienced the same as if they were told to stop sleeping with their spouse. Yielding similar co-sleeping data, a recent abstract also suggested that 52% of patients sampled from a family medicine clinic indicated sharing a bed with a dog or cat in spite of many patients reporting some disrupted sleep related to the co-sleeping, they also reported obtaining comfort and security. 3 When a dog slept in the bedroom, it had a 57% chance of sleeping on the bed 53% of co-sleepers reported sleep to be disrupted to some extent every night, but only 1% felt their sleep was disrupted more than 20 minutes per night. Though most of the data on co-sleeping and bed-sharing lack large sampling or careful analysis, 60% of patients reported co-sleeping with their pets in one study. ![]() In Western countries, the popularity of domestic pets has been increasing, and also rapidly expanding in westernizing cultures such as Japan. 2 It is well-known that cultural patterns impact the sleep environment. The domestication of the dog has been traced as far back as the Paleolithic era, about 31,000 years ago 1 to 32,100 years ago. The earliest co-habitant of man was the dog. Animal-human co-sleeping has a fascinating anthropological history. In order to properly understand the phenomenon of co-sleeping, we are best served by reviewing the history of our relationship with dogs and cats, as well as our (questionably unique) capacity of empathy for other species. Unlike SAs, these animals do not require formal training, nor are they legally protected for public access. In recent years, there has been growing use of ESAs as well, who tend to be specifically used to provide support for psychiatric conditions such as panic anxiety and depression. Dogs appear to be the most readily available and trainable SAs for most disorders. Not only are SAs apparently being more widely utilized for this purpose, but there may be other benefits to the treatment of sleep disorders that have been only initially explored. It is the objective of this paper to describe not only the habits of co-sleeping, but also the use of service animals (SAs), usually dogs, and of emotional support animals (ESAs) as promising treatments of various sleep disorders, and to promote further interest in this area by sleep professionals. ![]() In Western cultures, an increasingly prevalent patient choice is the practice of co-sleeping with pets. Part of this clinical endeavor is to further understand how we can use patient decision-making preferences to help guide and direct treatment, which at times can present a major challenge. Schenck, MDĪs sleep specialists, we spend our patient contact time on issues related not only to adherence to the treatments we prescribe, but also on trying to understand the motivations and behavioral choices our patients make that affect their sleep. In patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), nightmares, narcolepsy, parasomnias, and other sleep disorders, service animals may add a valuable, and currently underappreciated, treatment option.
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