By: Chloe Wu

The local pet adoption center is filled with a chorus of barks, meows, squeaks, and chirps. Within this symphony is the magic of a new bond created between human and animal. Within days, they will become inseparable companions: laughing, crying, playing, and learning, and journeying together through what life has to offer. In many households, family members go beyond the mother, father, and children—it extends to their furry friend as well.

However, a pet is not just simply a friend. A recent study published last Wednesday found that there are powerful, stress-reducing benefits to interacting with a pet. The study goes on to state that pets can help develop people’s social skills, empathy, physical health, and even cognitive development. This new research can shine light on the benefits of connecting with pets, as well as what could perhaps be the future of positive mental health.

Hayley Christian, associate professor at the School of Population and Global Health at the University of Western Australia in Perth, found that owning a pet was correlated with fewer peer problems and more positive social behavior. According to the BBC, researchers also found that “children aged 2 to 5 with a family dog were more active, spent less time on screens, and slept more on average, than those without a pet.”

Clinical neuroimmunologist Dr. Tiffany Braley, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Michigan, says, “Prior research has also identified associations between interactions with companion animals and physiological measures of stress reduction, including reductions in cortisol levels and blood pressure, which in the long term could have an impact on cognitive health.”

Of course, time dedicated to interacting with the pet also matters. The BBC puts it this way: “If your sibling has a hamster that lives in their room, you’re unlikely to feel very attached to it, for example, compared to a family dog that you walk every day after school.”

Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic in the Center for Brain Health at Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine, states, “Having a pet or multiple pets combines many core components of a brain-healthy lifestyle.”

The American Heart Association’s publication Newsroom said last Sunday that 95% of pet owners rely on their pets for stress relief.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220609-do-pets-help-childrens-development

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/well/family/therapy-dogs-kids-stress.html

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/23/health/pets-brain-health-study-wellness/index.html

https://newsroom.heart.org/news/new-survey-95-of-pet-parents-rely-on-their-pet-for-stress-relief