Some powerful health benefits come from pets. Here's how caring for an animal can help alleviate anxiety and depression, minimize stress levels, and even improve the health of your heart.
The benefits of pets
The immediate joys that come with sharing their lives with service animals are obvious to most pet owners. Many of us, however, remain ignorant of the physical and mental health advantages that can often accompany a furry friend's enjoyment of snuggling up. Studies have only recently started to scientifically investigate the advantages of the human-animal connection.
Pets have developed to become acutely attuned to individuals and our behavior and feelings. Dogs, for example, are capable of understanding many of the words we use, but reading our tone of voice, body language, and gestures is much better. And a loyal dog would look into your eyes, like any good human companion, to assess your emotional state and try to understand what you think and feel (and to work out when the next walk or treat might be coming, of course).
Pets can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness, and even improve your cardiovascular health. Pets, especially dogs and cats. Caring for an animal will help kids grow up healthy and more involved. For older adults, pets can have useful companionship. Perhaps most importantly, however, a pet will give your life true joy and unconditional love.
How pets can impact your health
Although the greatest health benefits are always enjoyed by people with dogs, a pet does not always have to be a dog or cat. Even watching fish in an aquarium can help to relieve stress in the muscles and reduce the pulse rate.
Studies have shown that:
Pet owners are less likely than people without pets to suffer from depression.
In stressful conditions, people with pets have lower blood pressure than those without pets. One research also showed that their blood pressure decreased dramatically within five months when individuals with borderline hypertension adopted dogs from a shelter.
Playing with a dog or cat can increase serotonin and dopamine levels, which are calm and calming.
Owners with pets have lower levels of triglycerides and cholesterol (heart disease indicators) than people without pets.
Patients with heart problems with pets live longer than those without.
Pet owners over 65 years of age make 30% fewer visits to their physicians than people without pets.
One explanation for these therapeutic results is that the simple human need for contact is fulfilled by pets. After engaging with pets, even hardened criminals in jail display long-term changes in their actions, many of them witnessing reciprocal love for the first time. When you're stressed or nervous, stroking, hugging, or otherwise touching a caring animal will easily relax and soothe you. Loneliness can also be relieved by the companionship of a friend, and most dogs are a perfect stimulus for regular exercise, which can be substantial.
How pets can help you make healthy lifestyle changes
In easing symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, bipolar disorder, and PTSD, embracing healthy lifestyle changes plays an important role. Caring for a pet will help you make healthy changes in your lifestyle through:
Increasing fitness. It is enjoyable and rewarding to take a dog for a walk, hike, or run to incorporate safe physical exercise into your schedule. Studies have shown that dog owners are much more likely to meet their expectations for daily exercise, and exercising every day is also better for the animal. It will deepen the bond between you, eliminate most dog behavior issues, and keep your pet safe and fit.
Supplying companionship. Companionship can help avoid disease and even add years to your life, while signs of depression can be caused by isolation and loneliness. Caring for a live animal, particularly if you live alone, can help make you feel needed and desired, and take the attention away from your problems. Many dog and cat owners speak to their animals, some also use them to cope with their problems. And nothing, like coming home to a wagging tail or purring cat, beats loneliness.
Helping new people know you. For their owners, animals can be a great social lubricant, allowing you to begin and sustain new friendships. On walks, hikes, or in a dog park, dog owners sometimes stop and talk to each other. In pet shops, clubs, and training courses, pet owners also meet new people.
Anxiety Reduction. An animal's companionship can provide warmth, help relieve anxiety, and create self-confidence for individuals who are reluctant to go out into the world. Since animals prefer to live in the moment, they are not concerned about what happened yesterday or what could happen tomorrow, they will help you become more aware and enjoy the joy of the now.
Adding order to your day and routine. Many pets, especially dogs, need a daily schedule of feeding and exercise. Having a coherent routine keeps an animal relaxed and healthy, and it can also function for you. A plaintive look from your animals, regardless of your mood-depressed, nervous, or stressed-and you will have to get out of bed to eat, exercise, and care for them.
Providing relief from sensory stress. Touch and movement are two safe ways of handling stress easily. It can reduce blood pressure by stroking a dog, cat, or other animal and make you feel calmer and less anxious quickly.
Alternative pets and their benefits
Pets' health benefits are not limited to just cats and dogs. Here are some less popular choices if you're thinking of having a household pet:
Lizards and snakes. You may think reptiles seem cold, but research shows that lizards and snakes can grow attached to their owners, loving and eating those who care, treat, and feed them. By lifting their necks up, some might even ask to be petted. A reptilian companion could also cater to those who have an allergy or find their exotic, odd beauty appealing to furry pets.
Rabbits. A bunny rabbit is another choice for those who are allergic to dogs or cats. A rabbit can be an exceptional family pet, but with lots of energy and personality, not as high maintenance as dogs or cats. A minimum of 4 x 4 feet of living space with the ability to travel wider each day does not require a lot of space. A rabbit might be the ideal choice if you live in an apartment. Owning a rabbit will help decrease levels of the cortisol stress hormone and raise levels of serotonin ('happy hormone') throughout your brain. A fuzzy friend's petting or snuggling can also help lower blood pressure.
Birds. Companion birds have very long lifespans; humans may also outlive certain parrot species. Owning a bird implies that without having to deal with the sadness that comes with missing your pet, you will enjoy all the affection. Birds also promote social contact, which can be good if you live alone or are elderly and want to keep your mind sharp.
Fish. In several doctors' or dentists' offices, nursing homes, or other medical services, you may have seen fish ponds. For this, there is a valid reason. It has been clinically proven that catching and watching fish reduces tension and calms the heart rate.
The health benefits of pets for older adults
Owning a pet will play an important role in healthy aging, as well as offering vital companionship by helping you to:
Find in life significance and pleasure. You will miss things as you age that previously consumed your time and gave your life meaning. You may retire from your profession or you may move far away from your children. Caring for a pet will help raise your confidence, optimism, and sense of self-worth and offer pleasure. It can add to your sense of fulfillment to choose to take a pet from a shelter, particularly an older pet, knowing that you have given a home for a pet that would otherwise have been euthanized.
Remain connected. As you grow older, maintaining a social network isn't always easy. Retirement, sickness, death, and relocation will take away family members and close friends. And it can get tougher to make new friends. For older adults, pets, especially dogs, are a great way to start up conversations and meet new people.
Stimulate your vitality. By taking good care of yourself, you will overcome many of the physical problems associated with aging. Playfulness, fun, and exercise are promoted by dogs and cats, which will help improve your immune system and increase your energy.
The health benefits for children
Children who grow up with pets not only have less chance of allergies and asthma, many also gain responsibility, empathy, and compassion from having a dog or cat.
Pets are never critical and don't issue orders, unlike parents or teachers. They are always caring and their mere presence in the home will help provide children with a sense of protection. When mom and dad aren't around, having an ever-present pet will help relieve separation anxiety in children.
Getting a pet's affection and companionship will make a child feel significant and help them build a positive picture of themselves.
It is safer for children who are emotionally attached to their pets to develop relationships with other people.
Studies have also shown that pets are able to help relax children who are hyperactive or overly aggressive. Of course, to behave properly with one another, both the animal and the child need to be conditioned.
By teaching a child empathy and comprehension, a bird will help build a young and increasing mind. Without fear of rejection, children can speak to their birds, which helps them to develop their confidence and even their vocabulary.
Having a guinea pig is a wonderful way of teaching responsibility to your kids. All they need is a small amount of formulated pellet food, a large cage, and a vitamin C supplement, which makes them an ideal pet for young children. Guinea pigs are easy to care for.
Playing with pets, which can provide a source of calmness and relaxation as well as a source of stimulation for the brain and body, can help children and adults alike. For a boy, playing with a pet may also be a gateway to learning. It can stimulate the creativity and interest of a child. For instance, the rewards of training a dog to learn a new trick will teach children the significance of perseverance. Caring for a furry companion can give a child another advantage as well: tremendous joy.
How to find the perfect pet
If you have decided that it is right for you to own a pet, congratulations: you are about to open your life to a friendship that is special and satisfying. While people with pets tend to be happier, more independent, and feel safer than those without pets, choosing the type of pet that best fits your needs and lifestyle is crucial.
Speak to other family members and reflect on the characteristics that you like in a pet and those that you would like to avoid. In the case of dogs, the best friend of man comes in countless breeds or race mixes, each offering a distinct blend of character traits.
If you're looking for something smaller or with less energy, then maybe you and your family are right for a rabbit. When searching for the right cat, here are some questions to ask yourself:
Where are you living? About an apartment or house? The size of the animal ideally suited to your home will be greatly influenced by this. In an apartment, for instance, a rabbit or cat might be more appropriate than a dog.
What lifestyle is yours? Timetable of work? You may want an animal that does not require constant care, such as a reptile or fish, if those responsible for caring for the animal are away most of the day, either at school or work.
With whom do you live? For example, a large dog might knock over small children or an elderly relative, making a cat or rabbit a safer choice.
How big is that backyard of yours? For example, large dog breeds also need more room to run around and play.
Are you traveling a lot? If you happen to be on the road for work or play, then you'll want a pet that a friend or neighbor can leave alone for long stretches or easily look after. A fish or a reptile might be more fitting than a cat or dog.
How much shedding can be tolerated by you? If you dislike fur, make sure to look at the animal breed, because the hair of certain animals will go anywhere. The good news is that there are many distinct breeds of dog and cat that have limited shedding. There are also items, like an iguana or a snake, that do not shed at all (well, at least not hair).
Ultimately, you have to be frank with yourself about the lifestyle you would like to keep and the kind of pet you would like to care for when choosing a pet. If you have reservations about taking care of a bigger animal, start small, get a fish or a smaller mammal. See how it works from there, and go.
I like having a cat, but don't always stay at home