Stay Healthy, Live with a Dog
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
In the United States, one out of every two households includes a companion animal often more than one animal lives in these homes. As a caregiver, you know there’s nothing like the feeling you get from being with your pet whether the animal is a dog, cat, or reptile (this applies to my son, Kyle). Not only can your companion bring a smile to your face, but recent studies also show just how much your pet can positively affect your physical and mental health. Most of us realize that too much stress can make us sick. Stress not only weakens our immune systems, but can exacerbate existing health problems. Interestingly, pets can function as buffers against much of the daily stress we face.
The American Heart Association recently released data from a study conducted, they found that therapeutic dogs lower anxiety, stress, and heart and lung pressure among heart failure patients. This was the first study to actually measure a patients physiological responses before, during, and after visits from a volunteer and a dog. The results were groundbreaking: Anxiety alone dropped an astounding 24 percent in patients who were visited by a volunteer and a therapy dog. This compared to a mere 10-percent drop in patients who were visited by a volunteer alone. No changed was noted in patients who received no visit.
Also, levels of a stress hormone, epinephrine, were measured in this study. In this study, patients with canine visitors experienced a 17 percent decrease, compared to a 2-percent decrease in patients with only human visitors. Perhaps most noteworthy, though, were the results for the group without visitors: These patients stress hormone levels actually rose about 7 percent.
During this study the breed and size of the dogs seemed to be irrelevant, they ranged from a miniature schnauzer to a golden retriever. Only well behaved dogs were allowed to participate in the study and patients were asked beforehand if they liked dogs and wanted to participate. The best part of the study results: The presence of the dogs is what made the biggest difference. Just being around a dog can be relaxing for many people, and apparently, it can also offer more tangible results.
Watch for the next post to see some of the results found in the patients…
