Pets have long been appreciated for their unconditional love and loyal companionship. These character traits are the foundation for a host of health benefits that people can reap when their lives are shared with beloved pets. Here are 10 ways in which the human-animal bond can enhance your physical and emotional health. Find out all about pets and your health.
How Pets Help Your Health
Pets and Your Health: Blood Pressure Reducer
As a result of today’s overburdened and fast-paced lifestyles, hypertension is one of the most common health problems to afflict our society. Petting a dog or cat soothes frazzled nerves, forces you to take a breather and lowers elevated blood pressure. In turn, this can help to reduce the risk for strokes, heart attacks and other health problems.
Stress Buster Whether a pet is playing, snuggling or purring, once the mere presence of your pet captivates your attention, a reduction in stress-induced cortisol hormone levels in your system ensues.
Workout Buddy You and your dog both need exercise to prevent obesity and to maintain optimal cardiovascular health. Dog owners are inspired to take a walk around the block, hit the hiking trail or jog along the shoreline with their canine companions alongside. Find the right jogging companion for you here.
Daily Motivator Your pets depend on you for their daily care. You dog cannot let itself out, and your cat does not have the manual dexterity to open a can of food. Their needs motivate you to get up and go each morning. Seniors who reside with only a pet for companionship continue to feel needed and to have a sense of purpose. Still not convinced how pets improve your health ? Read on!
Mood Enhancer Everyone experiences the blues and loneliness on occasion. Talking to your pets can be a powerful antidepressant. These furry mood lifters listen as long as you need to talk, they are nonjudgmental and their only responses come in the form of cute facial expressions, tail wags, nuzzles and occasional heartwarming vocalizations.
Social Magnet Whether they meet on the street, at a dog park, in the aisles of the pet supply shop or in the veterinary clinic’s waiting room, pet owners sense a commonality in one another and this sparks friendly conversation. Pets have the power to attract potential new friends for their owners, which does wonders for self esteem and social engagement calendars.
Allergy Desensitizer When pet owners expose their children to the animals regularly during their first year of life, the infants develop stronger immune systems and experience fewer allergies later on. Always supervise any interaction between your children and your pets. Find here the best family dogs for children.
Disaster Alarm Pets have keen senses of perception. They can often detect such dangers as impending fire and gas leaks before you can, and their devotion prompts them to bring the potentially life-threatening situation to your attention. Learn more about the causes, symptoms and prevention of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Dogs and Cats. Dogs also serve as home invasion alarms as they bark menacingly to ward off intruders.
Cancer Detectors Patients have presented themselves to their physicians because their dogs or cats had been persistently licking at particular areas on their bodies. Upon examination and testing, cancer was often confirmed. Pets have an instinct for knowing when something is not normal, and that includes detecting abnormalities in your body. Think of insistent attention to any lump, bump, lesion or apparently normal spot on your body as your pet’s way of pestering you to see a doctor.
Health Care Assistants
Service dogs have been trained to perform tasks that extend beyond guiding the blind. Today, service dogs are trained to sense low blood sugar episodes in diabetics, imminent seizures in epileptics and the approaches of traumatic flashbacks in veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Their training enables them to help their owners through these crises so that these patients can live safely on their own and learn to take control of their conditions.
By sharing your home with a cherished feline friend or canine companion, your life will be enriched with enjoyment and an elevated sense of physical and emotional well being.
