Dogs: Our Companion in Good Health & Happiness

Dogs: Our Companion in Good Health & Happiness

Dogs have always been our truly valued companions. They are man’s best friends. Our furry friends are famed for their loyalty and seemingly constant willingness to paint smiles on our faces.

In this article, we will know how our dogs make us happier, more resilient when facing stress, and physically healthier and how they support our well-being.

You might ask, how dogs keep us in good health?

Many studies have suggested that having dogs as pets is associated with better physical health. Haven’t you realized that dogs ‘force’ their owners to take daily exercise?

Dog reduces a person’s risk of premature death.

In fact, Medical News Today reported on a study that showed that owning a dog reduces a person’s risk of premature death by up to a third.

Dog owners have a lower risk of heart disease.

In addition, researchers at the University of Harvard in Cambridge, MA, suggest that dog owners have a lower risk of heart disease.

Why is that? It is because of the factors related to lifestyle adjustments that we—dog owners tend to make after we decide to adopt a furry friend.

The most prominent such lifestyle factor is physical activity. There is no way around it: if you own a dog, you have to commit to twice daily walks — and sometimes even more.

In addition, according to The Journal of Physical Activity and Health, dog owners are more likely to walk for leisure purposes than both non-pet owners and people who own pet cats.

Furthermore, several recent studies — including one from the University of Missouri in Columbia and another from Glasgow Caledonian University in the United Kingdom — found that adults aged 60 and over enjoy better health thanks to the “enforced” exercise they get by walking their dogs.

Dogs can strengthen our health not just as we grow older, but also much, much earlier than that: before we are even born.

Lower risk of developing eczema in early childhood.

Research published last year suggests that children who were exposed to dogs while still in the womb — as their mothers spent time around dogs during pregnancy — had a lower risk of developing eczema in early childhood.

Also, children exposed to certain bacteria carried by dogs also experienced a reduction of asthma symptoms, the researchers noted.

On the other hand, you might ask, how dogs make people feel good?

Being with dogs give us “feel-good vibes” almost instantly. How much more if we will share our life and home with them?

Did you know that dogs are often used as therapy animals because they have a calming effect on people.

It is really difficult not to cheer up, even after a hard day’s work, when you are greeted with — often vocal — enthusiasm by a friendly dog.

This, researchers explain, is due to the effect of the “love hormone” oxytocin.

“During the last decades,” write the authors of a review that featured in Frontiers in Psychology, “animal assistance in therapy, education, and care has greatly increased.”

When we interact with dogs, our oxytocin levels shoot up. Since this is the hormone largely responsible for social bonding, this hormonal “love injection” boosts our psychological well-being.

Previous studies analyzed in the review have revealed that dog owners have more positive social interactions, and that the presence of canine friends makes people more trusting…and also more deserving of trust.

Moreover, dogs appear to reduce symptoms of depression and render people more resilient to stress. That is why dogs are often used as therapy animals.

“Researchers hypothesize that therapy dogs can improve the psychological well-being of children going through cancer therapy, as well as help individuals diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) deal with disruptive symptoms or even prevent the onset of PTSD episodes.

In conclusion

Dogs are not just incredibly loveable and often very funny friends; their company also keeps us in good physical shape. Also, their health problems — sadly but endearingly — often mirror our own.

Most of all, however, we welcome them into our lives — and have done so since time immemorial — because they instantly bring us the sort of joy and calm that we would otherwise have to work hard to obtain.

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