Have you ever wondered what your dog has been dreaming about? Well, according to Dr. Deirdre Barrett, you and your dog may have more in common than you realize when it comes to sleep. The Harvard psychologist has some insight into what your pup may be thinking while he twitches and snores. “Since dogs are generally extremely attached to their human owners, it’s likely you dog is dreaming of your face, your smell and pleasing or annoying you.” Dr. Barrett told People magazine in an interview about what pets and animals dream about.
While much of our understanding of animal dreams is speculative, scientists have studied their brain patterns while they sleep. It turns out; a dog’s brain waves are incredibly similar to humans’ while in deep sleep. We can’t entirely know what our dogs are chasing when their legs start moving while they snooze, but we can ascertain that it’s quite similar to human sleepwalking. This also applies to when our dogs start making noises; woofing and whimpering in their sleep is the doggy equivalent of sleep talking. All mammals enter sleep cycles similar to REM (Rapid Eye Movement), which in humans is our dream cycle. During REM, humans’ eyes move quickly and randomly, and our brain waves enter a specific pattern. Having looked at several mammals’ brain waves during this stage of sleep, scientists have deduced a striking similarity. And because dogs have been developing around people for so long, it is a good assumption that they would dream in similar ways to us as well.
The study of human sleep cycles has given us insight into animals’ cycles and visa versa, and broadened our understanding of how these beings relate to us. Scientists have even determined that dogs can have nightmares, which us dog owners have likely already been able to tell when our furry little friends whine and wake themselves up with startle. All of this research contributes to the understanding that dogs and humans are more alike than we could have ever imagined.
