By: Boya Hu

Researchers have recently proved that hanging out with a dog can improve your mental health. It will give you a higher dose of oxytocin, which is a love hormone.

According to Kids News, Nancy Gee works at the Centre for Human-Animal Interaction as a Professor of psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University. She says that 5-20 minutes with your dog will give you a drop in the stress hormone, cortisol, and a rise in oxytocin. “Dogs really can connect with another human being. And they do it in a very unassuming way.” Gee says.

When dogs see humans, their oxytocin also rises. After sometime of studying an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old child with dogs, scientists have discovered that the two kids were less stressed and were more focused. The same thing happened with other students in schools. The students felt more reduced of homesickness after spending brief periods of time with dogs, according to Kids News.

People have voted on how dogs have made them feel. 65% of them voted that it made them feel instantly happy and that it put a smile on their face. 7% of them voted that it made them a little nervous. 28% voted that it made them feel more relaxed.

Dogs are thought to be a man’s best friend, but they can actually be more than just friends, they can even help you reduce stress.