Do dogs actually sleep?
John Castro
Updated on May 18, 2026
Dogs have short sleep cycles lasting only 45 minutes at a time. During that time, they will cycle through REM and non-REM sleep twice, spending about six minutes in the REM or dream stage. Our sleep cycles last 70-120 minutes and we'll cycle through REM and non-REM stages several times.
Do dogs actually sleep at night?
According to Dr. Roberts, around 75% of a dog's sleep happens at night while the rest occurs in the daytime. The average dog sleeps around nine hours in a night and three hours during the day. That means humans can sleep with their dog each night.Do dogs fake their sleep?
Signs Your Dog May be Faking SleepMany dog owners report that their naughty pooches can and do fake sleeping in a bid to either get out of something or because they want to do something that they shouldn't be doing.