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PETS and EMOTIONS

Exploring the Emotional Benefits of Having a Dog
Member of the Family - Pets by Juno DeMelo

Who gives the best warm fuzzies? That little furball curled up at your feet right now.

THERE’S NO denying that the unconditional love from a four-legged friend makes us happy. We’re all pretty much aligned on that: Almost 90 percent of dog and cat owners said their pets have a positive impact on their mental health, according to a recent poll by the American Psychiatric Association.

 

“I’m an absolute believer that my life has been made richer through my experience with animals,” says Hal Herzog, PhD, professor emeritus of psychology at Western Carolina University, who studies animal behavior. Herzog adds that, although we can be sure our pets brighten our days, he and his colleagues are still studying the science behind how they do it.

 

Sticking with the theme of this issue, we looked into the available research and broke down some ways our animals make us feel better. Note: To help maximize these benefits, experts advise squeezing in as much together time as you can. “It’s not just having a pet that matters—it’s the quality of the relationship,” says Megan Mueller, PhD, who leads the Pets and Well-Being Lab at Tufts University. “A colleague of mine is fond of saying that having a pet is like having a bike. If it’s sitting in the garage collecting dust, it’s not doing much good.”


They Boost Feel-Good Hormones
Ruff day? Numerous studies find that when you love on a furry creature, your levels of the stress hormone cortisol can go down, and your levels of the “happy” hormone oxytocin (which makes you feel calm and safe and helps lower your blood pressure) can go up. In a study in the journal Science, people who spent at least two minutes gazing into their canines’ eyes experienced a 300 percent rise in oxytocin levels. What’s more, scientists suspect that the relationship is mutually beneficial. In that same study, the pups who got the eye contact experienced a 130 percent jump in their oxytocin levels.


They Provide Companionship
Your dog really can be like a BFF. “Many of the benefits we get from the people in our social support network—having someone to talk to, focus our attention on, and exercise with, for example—we can also get from our pets,” says Alan Beck, DSc, director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He adds that pets have the power to decrease loneliness. They’re also great listeners. In a 2021 study in Frontiers in Psychiatry, 80 percent of people said their dogs helped them get through tough times, and 69 percent admitted to telling their dogs secrets no one else knew. Of course, pets can’t give advice, but don’t you tend to feel better after unburdening yourself?


They Make Us More Social
If you’ve ever been to a corgi meetup or traded cat-sitting duties with a neighbor, you know that pets can bring people together. “You’re significantly more likely to talk to people on the street when you’re walking your dog,” Herzog says. And chatting up a fellow cat lover or someone at the dog park fulfills a basic human need to connect with others and increases what experts at Harvard Business School call your “relational diversity,” the amount of time you spend talking to different types of people. A 2022 study found that the people who felt the most satisfied and happy with their lives had the most relational diversity.


They Encourage Mindfulness
When Bones McFluff demands pats, he’s not worrying about the past or future. He’s living in the moment, and he can help you do the same. “Interacting with animals often gets our mind off other things for at least a few minutes, which is a brief exercise in mindfulness,” says Andrea Beetz, PhD, professor of special education at the International University of Applied Sciences in Germany, who studies human-animal interaction. Mindfulness can reduce stress and anxiety, sharpen focus, and promote a good night’s sleep. Even a little can help: Dog owners who gave their pooches at least seven minutes of undivided attention each week felt more relaxed during the exercise, according to a 2021 study in the journal Animals. And, yay, the sessions had short-term lingering calming effects too.

So get to it and dole out those belly rubs!
 

 

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