If you have a pet, give her or him a hug -- if you don’t have a pet, it's time to consider adding one to the family. Pet ownership has many perks – from initiating conversations with others to relieving both blood pressure and anxiety.
Humans have sought the help of domesticated animals but no one can deny that the most important relationships we have are with our pets. Read on for more healthful advantages owning a pet can bestow upon you.
1. Spending a few minutes with a pet can relieve stress and anxiety. The interaction reportedly causes cortisol, a hormone produced when the body is stressed, to decrease and serotonin, a chemical that helps you feel good overall, to increase.
2. One study confirmed that having a pet can help lower your blood pressure. Pet owners had lower resting blood pressure measurements than those who didn’t own pets. This was also true when the subjects underwent a stress test. And after five months of ownership, blood pressures remained down.
3. Owning a dog may have a physical advantage for owners. It’s been found that dog owners are more likely to be active and less likely to be obese. Some think this is because of the exercise for both dog and owner. Cholesterol was found to be lower in pet owners, which is likely a result of the physical activity.
4. People who work with autistic children find them receptive to touching animals – a breakthrough for the child as sensory stimulation is an issue for them. Pets enable children get used to the feel or smell or touch of something in a non-threatening environment. As both the pet and the autistic child often read and react to non-verbal communication, the pairing can be beneficial to the child.
5. Researchers have noted a possible correlation between pet ownership and lower cholesterol and triglycerides, though it may also be a function of the pet owner’s lifestyle.
6. For those of you suspicious of cats for whatever reason, this is a big-time reason to lose your fear of felines. A 20-year study of cat owners revealed that those who never owned a cat had a 40 percent higher chance of having a fatal heart event over someone who has a cat. Further, a study involving dogs showed a better one-year survival rate for owners than non-owners. So basically, what the two studies demonstrate is that pet owners are more likely to survive a serious heart event, including heart failure.
7. You know how pets tend to love you unconditionally? They will likely let you pet them until they are partially bald, and listen to how your day went for hours, though they make take a nap in the middle of it. This unconditional love is just what depressed people need to experience, along with a sense of purpose. Walking a dog is even better because it helps get the depressed person outside into the sunlight and engaged in the outside world.
"A powerful neurochemical, oxytocin, is released when we look at our companion animal, which brings feelings of joy," says Johnson. "It's also accompanied by a decrease in cortisol."
8. Another benefit just for cat owners: you have fewer strokes than those who don’t own cats. Researchers have no idea why -- it is what it is. Another one to mull over.
9. Pet owners are less isolated, and less lonely than their non-pet owning counterparts. This could be because people love talking about their dog, cat, ferret, or turtle. And social interaction is a natural brain stimulator.
10. Horses have been used in stroke rehabilitation programs. By riding a horse, the stroke patient works on strengthening their core and body balance.
11. Children who have strong immune systems and fewer illnesses were found to have dogs or cats as pets. This was not true for those without pets. Which means fewer childhood allergies. Thirty-three percent fewer allergies.
12. Infants at risk for asthma were exposed to cats early on with continued exposure. These children had fewer asthma risks.
13. Some dogs can sense that a diabetic’s blood sugar is dropping. This may be the result of a change in the person's scent. One in three dogs have this ability and can be trained to recognize that scent to alert the diabetic owner.
14. There is nothing like a pet’s unconditional love for a child with ADHD. When others don’t understand, a pet certainly will. Having a pet means learning routine and responsibility. And a dog will require exercise, which will help burn off excess energy. Good self-esteem is another side effect of pet ownership for ADHD kids.
15. Some dogs can alert parents that its child owner is having a seizure. There are other dogs trained to lay over the person with epilepsy if he is on the ground. Also, there are some very special dogs that will alert an owner that he is about to have a seizure so that the owner can get to a safe place to lie down.
16. People with AIDS who own pets are less likely to be depressed. And a University of California – Davis study confirmed that people with Alzheimer’s have been noted to have fewer anxious outbursts when there is a pet in the house.
Okay, this list is extensive but chock full of good reasons to introduce a four-legged friend into your life. If this doesn’t inflame an urge to get a pet, we don’t know what will. Adopt a rescued pet, they are the most appreciative animals in the world.