How Do Dogs Benefit Your Physical And Mental Health?
Having a dog helps you structure your routine, learn selflessness and discipline. But there’s more to pet ownership than feeding and walking schedules. For instance, did you know having a dog can lower your stress levels and lift your mood? Dogs also make for great company on walks and other outdoor adventures.
Is it, therefore, any surprise that around 38% of US families have one or more dogs?
Dogs are a source of joy, comfort, and support to many. Ready to learn more about the benefits of having a dog?
Dogs Can Help Your Heart
How do dogs help humans? Owning a dog can help reduce the risk of heart problems. As per the American Heart Foundation, pet owners who walk their dogs have better overall cardiovascular health. People with pets also have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels than those who do not own pets. Not just that, heart attack patients who interact with therapy dogs for just twelve minutes a day were found to have decreased heart rate, anxiety, and blood pressure.
If you or anyone in your family has a heart condition, then the benefits of having a dog can include better heart health. Adopting a dog can help you live longer, thanks to the emotional support, constant snuggles, and unconditional love they offer.
ALSO READ: Types of Damages for Dog Bites
Dog Owners Get More Physical Activity
When you adopt a dog, walking becomes second nature to you. Morning person or not, you can be sure that your four-legged friend will have you up at daybreak. And while that’s not our first preference (hello coffee!), it comes with health benefits.
Wondering how do dogs help your physical health? It is found that pet owners are four times more likely than people without pets to achieve their daily quota of physical activity. Think about it. Even a fifteen-minute walk thrice a day adds up to over 300 minutes of exercise weekly.
They Help People With Dementia Symptoms
Many people often wonder, How do dogs benefit your mental health?
If you’ve been wondering the same thing, the answer is simple—dogs have a soothing effect on anxious and overwhelmed people. In fact, this research conducted in the United States found that nursing home patients experienced fewer bouts of aggressive behavior around therapy dogs.
Service Dogs Help People With Seizures
Canine companionship can be a very important, even life-saving factor for people who are prone to seizures. Here’s how. A seizure alert dog can sense when a seizure is oncoming and can warn people. This gives you ample time to take medication and call for medical assistance.
Dogs Help You Stop Stressing Out
Dogs are the best stress-busters. They are responsible for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression in humans. Owning and interacting with dogs has proved to decrease levels of cortisol, a stress-related hormone in humans.
This, in turn, has multiple health benefits and is known to lower blood pressure, as it increases the levels of serotonin and dopamine, the two main chemicals released in the brain responsible for bringing about a calm and relaxing feeling.
Workspaces have started to allow pets around as the office environment reduces tension. Dogs also tend to help reduce loneliness in adults, boost mood and bring about a feeling of moral support. Petting a dog lowers blood pressure, heart rate, slows down breathing, and relaxes the muscles
They Help Us Cope With Crisis
Still unconvinced that dogs have a huge impact on our psychological health and well-being?
Studies conducted by notable organizations, including the College of Veterinary Medicine, suggest that patients with PTSD, including military veterans suffering from acute PTSD, did well both physiologically and psychologically when they adopted or interacted with a service dog.
Dogs Encourage You To Move
Have you ever met a dog that does not prance around wanting to go outside every opportunity it gets? Dogs simply love to keep their owners on their toes. They will ensure you get out of bed or move off the couch and get the exercise you need.
What are the advantages of having a dog? Dogs help improve physical fitness. Be it a walk, a run, a jog, a workout, or even a hike, your canine companion is sure to tag along as your personal motivation and support coach.
Since all dog breeds have exercise needs that must be met, it’s best to plan a consistent workout routine to make sure both you and your dog retire exhausted and blissfully happy at the end of each day.
Dogs Make You More Attractive—even Virtually
Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or even a dating app, simply posting a photograph of your dog is enough to earn several likes and comments. Why? Simple. We’re hardwired into believing that dogs are good judges of character (and they are!). And so, when we see happy dogs, we instantly believe their owners are “good people.”
People with dogs also tend to be more approachable and comfortable to interact with. After all, they have ample practice engaging strangers—everyone wants to stop and ask questions like if the dog is friendly, pettable, a boy or girl, etc.
There is another reason as well. A pet parent will always find another pet parent attractive. So if you’re receiving several likes or comments from a person, the chances are they own dogs as well.
ALSO READ: Best Dogs For City Living
They Make Us More Social
When you bring home a dog, you need to invest in their mental health. And the best way to do that is to take it out for group hikes, play tag in a park, and attend dog yoga when you can. Can’t bring yourself to do that? Then a trip to the local dog park is a weekly must. Not only does this opportunity allow your dog to interact with other pets, but you also get to meet other pet owners and strike up a conversation. As per findings, 40% of dog owners had an easier time building friendships with other pet owners.
Dogs work as great ice-breakers making people feel approachable giving them a conversation starter
Dogs Are So Adorable They Make Us Love Them
Have you ever caught yourself bending down to boop a dog’s nose or give it a few scritches on its head? If you said yes, there’s a reason why we humans do that.
Just like humans feel the urge to coochie-coo a baby, a dog can trigger the same reaction in humans. Not quite sure why that happens? Dogs with features similar to infants—think large, puppy eyes, lopsided or toothless grins, round faces, etc. — trigger positive emotions in humans.
This is why we stop and watch all those videos of cute puppies and their innocent antics.
Conclusion
Now that you’re all caught up on scientifically proven benefits to having dogs, the next time someone asks, “is it bad to have a dog,” you’ll know exactly how to convince them otherwise!
Should you need to persuade them more about the benefits of having a dog, consider the following. When you need a non-judgmental friend to talk to, your furry friend on fours will be all ears. Dogs are also lovable, loyal, and protective. And let’s face it. Without a faithful animal by your side, your life would be incomplete. Thinking of getting one? Try a Beagle, the cutest little things on four legs and also beagles make good house pets.
