Health
Watch the video, If you are too lazy to read
Watch the video, If you are too lazy to read
If you were looking for the last reason to get a dog, or you want to finally convince your loved ones to adopt a four-legged friend, then this article will help you with that.
We've collected for you the latest studies that have shown how dogs have a positive effect on our physical and psychological health.
Dog and owner
Dog owners live longer
Research shows that whether owners walk around the house or socialize in a dog park, they are less likely to have a heart attack or early death. Swedish researchers analyzed health records for more than 3 million people, and found that most often lonely centenarians had dogs in their homes, and they died from heart attacks much less often than those who didn't have dogs. In addition, large dogs keep the owner in good physical shape and help him breathe fresh air every day, which has a beneficial effect on health.
Dogs reduce stress levels
Research in 2017 showed that interactions of any kind between a host and a dog increase oxytocin levels and reduce cortisol levels in the host's body. These hormonal changes are associated with an anti-stress effect. Dogs are so effective at helping people cope with stress that researchers consider buying a pet to be the best medicine. Well, who would want to think about problems when there's a creature nearby that gives love without wanting anything in return?
Some doctors say that by forgetting about the positive effects of communicating with dogs, we are losing a very important and necessary resource.
That is why it is very important to discover new aspects of communication with pets and understand that dogs have a positive effect not only on the physical but also on the psychological health of their owners.
How does a dog affect human health
Dogs improve social life
Owners are, on average, five times more likely to hang out with their neighbors than those who don't have dogs and never had dogs. They don't just hang out with dog lovers in parks and nod to each other on the streets — their dogs break down entire social barriers.
In general, four-legged friends make people more open and allow them to communicate more often with others — dog lovers, people who are interested in the dog, ask about breed, age and nickname. If you have a dog, it's sure to help you become more social and maybe even make new friends.
Read also: 15 kindest dog breeds for the whole family
Talking to a dog is like meditating
If your head is full of thoughts and too much falls on you at once, you can comb the dog or simply pet it. This will allow you to get rid of bad thoughts for a moment and forget about problems in the past, present and future.
One of the main advantages of this interaction with the dog is the opportunity to show care, and this way you can distract yourself from problems by focusing on what you are doing at the moment moment. In addition, caring for dogs often helps to distract from thoughts about loneliness, because knowing that you have a living being next to you that absolutely needs you, it is impossible to sit idly by. By taking care of someone, you can find meaning in life.
The benefits of dogs
Dogs reduce anxiety in children
You only need to look at young children and their big furry friends to understand that children form a special strong bond with dogs from childhood. Science does not stand still, and research shows that children who grow up in a home with dogs are much less likely to worry and panic than children who do not have pets.
Children's interaction with dogs helps improve social communication skills and reduce social anxiety when dealing with people.
In addition, a child's interaction with a dog reduces stress levels in the first person and increases the level of positive emotions. Children in whose homes dogs live are less susceptible to the negative effects of stressful situations, they are much better adapted to communicate with their peers and, moreover, understand how important it is to be careful treat our smaller brothers.