Health benefits of pet ownership

A recent study by Pedigree has proven that pets provide us with some significant health benefits, further reinforcing what we already know – that the strong bond between man and his bestfriend is undeniable!

Animals play an important role in so many lives – a pet can be a dear and loyal friend! Perhaps most importantly, owning a pet brings us much joy, unconditional love and plenty of affection. That moment when you walk through the door after a long and difficult day, a pet owner quite literally feels the love. And more than any other animal, dogs have become well attuned to humans and our behavior and emotions.

There are many reasons that dogs (and cats) have these therapeutic effects on us, with the obvious being they fulfill our basic human need for touch. Today, we all live in a very stressful time, so the better we can understand this human-animal bond the more our pets can help us to live healthier, happier lives.

New research by Pedigree has recently explored how dogs can reduce human stress, with some compelling results. The Hearts Aligned project was developed to show how pet ownership could help us positively deal with the stress of daily life.

An Australian-first demonstration, The

Hearts Aligned project found that an owners’ heart rate could change when in the company of their dog - actually lowering and becoming in sync with one another helping to reduce stress. We were fortunate enough to speak to the Hearts Aligned researchers, Dr Craig Duncan and Dr Mia Cobb.

As a human performance specialist working mostly with athletes to maximize performance capabilities, Craig knows all too well the toll stress and anxiety can have on a person’s health both

physiologically and psychologically. Mia Cobb is a canine scientist and researcher with a science degree in animal behavior. Mia is currently completing her PhD exploring how human attitudes and behaviour impact the welfare and performance of kenneled working dogs.

Pedigree’s Hearts Aligned study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that humans and dogs share heart rhythms when they share a special bond. Craig said they were quite surprised by how closely participants shared those patterns stating “the owners and pets had reductions in heart rate when they were comfortable and together, and in most instances these heart rates increased when they were apart.” Craig describes these findings as having significant implications for those of us looking to reduce damaging instances of stress and anxiety from our lives. Knowing that the heart rates of owner and pet align further demonstrate the strong bond between man and his best friend.

There is however a time frame in which heartbeats and anxiety levels dropped and then aligned. Mia explains that the reduction in heart rate was within two minutes, lasting until the heart rates dropped to resting levels.

The rates remained at this level until the demonstration period ended, around five minutes later. “We would expect that this would continue for as long as the owner

and pet remained together relaxing,” Craig added.

Dr Mia explains that although the aligning of heart rates occurs, it is unclear what processes underlie the coherence of heart rate patterns. Although there is a slight vagueness surrounding the exact reasons for this scientific phenomenon, Mia is delighted that something as simple as sharing time with your dog on the couch might be enough to promise this effect and the associated health benefits.

Another key focus of the study was on the human-animal ‘connection’. Asked whether this connection could happen between an animal and human who wasn’t the owner, Mia explained “previous research has shown that the psychological attachment we have to the people and animals around us can vary significantly, so I think it’s reasonable to say it’s unlikely you would see the same results with an animal you didn’t know.”

“Dogs also relate to different people with varying attachment, so I think you’d be most likely to see the kind of coherence we witnessed in the demonstration when a dog and owner share a positive relationship with each other.”

Speaking in more detail about the research, Craig can’t help but feel amazed by the amount of joy dogs can bring to people’s lives. “I have seen many times people become more relaxed in the presence of their dog.”

With so many health benefits to gain from reducing stress levels, Craig says our pets have also been found to decrease our risks of heart disease and can reduce blood pressure.

Mia, speaking from her own personal experience, feels more light-hearted when in the company of her dog. “He distracts me from every day stresses, promotes me to get outside and exercise, makes me laugh every day with his antics and gives me company, even when other family members are away.” She sees herself as a “fairly typical dog owner” and believes other dog owner’s likely share similar feelings.

“Physically, these things result in a lower heart rate and blood pressure than I’d otherwise experience, and I suspect I feel less stressed than I otherwise would.”

“Decades of academic research has found that pets can offer a range of benefits to their owners. There are many published papers examining human-animal interaction and some of my peers have dedicated their life’s work to exploring our bond with animal companions. Pet ownership can benefit us in a myriad of ways, from childhood well into old age.”

Mia also states that pet owners have been found to exercise more too. “Pet owners have been shown to have greater self-esteem and make fewer doctor visits than non-pet owners. Pets have been shown to help aid childhood development

and build immunity, especially in children.”

On top of the plethora of health benefits, pet owners also experience some pretty fantastic social benefits as well. “Anyone who has taken their dog to the local park, or with them to an outside cafe can attest to the way our animals can act like a social lubricant. Pets can also help older people tackle loneliness. Unsurprisingly, these social benefits have also been linked to how pets can help build our local communities,” says Mia.

What’s even more startling to Mia, and quite relevant for the Hearts Aligned project, is that research now truly supports pet ownership improving our cardiovascular health by “helping us reduce our stress and better deal with social anxiety and stressful situations.”

With all this research in mind, we can’t help but wonder if lowered stress and anxiety is a long-term effect of pet ownership. In 2013, Craig suffered a number of heart attacks linked to stress. Working in a ‘perceived high stress environment’, Craig failed to manage himself appropriately and suffered the consequences. However, Craig’s not the only one to end up in that situation. “I do believe that dogs may potentially have a great impact on the stress of people - as we have companion dogs for support we could start seeing companion dogs helping people through stressful situations.”

Craig is also fascinated by the many mechanisms that can help people to maximize the quality in their life.

“We have always been told that dog is man’s best friend and to actually see this relationship both subjectively and objectively is very interesting. As stress is a major problem in our society we should look for any avenue to decrease this and many, many people find peace in the relationship with a pet.” For Mia, she hopes that the Hearts Aligned research brings more focus to how our pets make us healthier and happier every day.

Today’s fast-paced lifestyle means our lives are full of stress and we spend so much of our time and energy trying to cope with it. Pet ownership has proven to be a great buffer from stressful situations and events. Next time you go to give your dog a hug, think of the wonderful benefits your pooch is so lovingly providing you.