The benefits of pet ownership have been evident for centuries. Now more and more studies prove that dogs reduce stress in their owners.
Reduce Blood Pressure
Studies show that pet owners have less hypertension and are healthier people all around. In fact, a major study shows that blood pressure was significantly reduced while petting a dog. A study from the American Heart Association shows that while pet ownership in general gives benefits to the heart, dog ownership in particular greatly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Petting Relaxes You
While giving your furry friend a good petting brings obvious relaxation and benefits to the dog, it’s actually helping you too. Petting their dog relaxes the owner which lowers their blood pressure and releases serotonin in the body. The blood pressure of the owner dropped by an astounding 10% within 15 minutes.
Help You Practice Mindfulness
While you’re playing a game of fetch with your dog, it’s hard to get overwhelmed thinking about things that are bothering you. The pure joy that your dog is experiencing is contagious. He wants nothing more than to play with you in that moment. And let’s be honest, he doesn’t give you much choice. Mindfulness is a proven way to reduce stress, with MRI scans showing that with just eight weeks of mindfulness practice, the amygdala – the brain’s fear center – begins to shrink.
Keep You Social
Dogs help you to connect with other people. From dog parks to canine related MeetUp groups to simply walking down the street, people generally love dogs. They want to talk to us about our pet and tell us how cute they are and ask a multitude of questions. This allows us to connect with other people. In fact, just being with your dog in public opens a door for human interaction. Residents in long term care facilities are more likely to attend activity sessions when they knew a pet was going to be present.
Make You Exercise
As we walk our dogs for health benefits, to give them bathroom relief and even to enjoy a nice day, owning a dog makes us exercise. We put them on a leash and go for a walk around the neighborhood with our beloved pet. As science has shown us, walking is one of the best excercises that we can do and if you own a dog it is a guarantee that you’ll be walking with him.
Have a story about your pup that yo want to share? Think we missed a tip? Tell us in the comments.
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