How pets help humans de-stress
Have you ever noticed how constantly caring for a dog or cat can help you stay centered in the present moment and feel less stressed? Your furry friends — happy to be there whenever you need a listening ear — can help you in many more ways. Here are some of the ways pets may be contributing positively to your life.
• They make great companions. Pets like dogs and cats can be counted on as everyday companions. Their affectionate, loyal, and amusing ways can help ease stress. Pets can also boost the mood of their human carers, helping them feel happier and even become more productive. Because taking care of pets entails a long-term commitment, it gives a person a sense of purpose.
• Pets have a feel-good effect. Pets can perk up people’s feelings. When a person is feeling lonely or stressed out, having a pet around can offer some relief. There are pets so cute and playful they can make you feel a lot calmer and less anxious or stressed. Playing with pets can lead to the release of the feel-good chemical serotonin, and decrease production of the stress hormone cortisol. Pet owners with high blood pressure may possibly also keep their blood pressure lower with the help of their furbabies. The unconditional love your pets give is like no other.
• Pets help improve physical fitness. Animals help humans both in the emotional and physical sense. By serving as an exercise buddy, a pet dog contributes to the pet parent’s fitness. Most pets require a daily form of exercise, like a daily 30-minute walk, playing fetch, jogging, hiking, running, and agility training. By playing an active role in your pet’s physical health, you as pet parent can also take the path to health.
• Foster social interactions. Engaging and connecting with other beings is key to staying healthy. Owning a pet will help you do just that. Pet owners may gravitate to, or convene in certain areas and form instant connections with, other pet parents. Social networks among dog lovers, for example, can be formed when they visit parks, outdoor restaurants and cafes, online groups, training classes, animal clubs, pet shows, and other places of interest. • Bust the myths on allergies and
asthma from pets. Most people think that because pets have hair and shed it from time to time, they are health hazards. The notion is that it can trigger allergies and asthma and lower one’s immune system. Surprisingly, studies found that babies who were exposed to pets before they turned six months were half less likely to develop allergies and asthma.
• Therapeutic benefits. Bringing training animals into hospitals and other clinical settings can have a positive outcome for patients. Another amazing thing is that animals that help humans with disabilities are able to do so because of their strong sense of smell, which is said to be 10,000 times more accurate than a human person’s, allowing them to sniff chemical changes in the body. Specially trained dogs can help people with Parkinson’s disease by assisting them with their needs like picking up dropped items, fetching needed items, providing balance support, and so on. Specially trained dogs can also help those with diabetes.
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