Dog News Daily

BONDING WITH YOUR PET BRINGS ENORMOUS HEALTH AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS

Anyone who owns and loves their pet would be the first to tell you that, without a doubt, that their pet improves their life exponentially. However, PsychologyToday.com published a fascinating article detailing a number of scientific studies that conclusively prove the psychological, emotional, and physical benefits pet owners derive from this companionship.

Research into this area began only thirty years ago. But that first study found that when a person pet a friendly and familiar dog, “they found that the person’s blood pressure lowered, heart rate slowed, breathing became more regular and muscle tension relaxed-all of which are signs of reduced stress.” More recent studies have re-confirmed this study as well as proving a reduction of stress related hormones in the blood after interacting with their pet.

Other recent studies have found the following:

• The benefits of interacting with your pet are not just short term. They last long after the pet has left the room with the positive effects growing over time.
• Another study followed a group of stockbrokers who lived extreme, stress-filled lives. All were put on the same high blood pressure medication. However, half of the group were also given a cat or dog. Six months later, the group was given the same stress test that they had taken at the beginning of the study. The pet owners were also allowed to take the test while their pet was physically with them. The results were rather amazing: The half of the group that had pets “showed a rise in stress related blood pressure that was only half as large as the brokers who were only treated with medication.”
• After a heart attack, pet owners had a significantly higher survival rate.
• Non-pet-owners over the age of sixty who lived alone were four times more likely to be diagnosed with clinical depression than those who had a pet.

For an even more detailed account of these various studies, check out the original article at PsychologyToday.com.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Related posts:

1. ECONOMIZE YOUR PET’S HEALTH CARE COSTS
2. DOG NEWS DAILY ROUNDUP
3. DOG NEWS DAILY ROUNDUP
4. DOG NEWS DAILY ROUNDUP
5. RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP: BENEFITS OF HIKING WITH YOUR DOG