5 Ways Pets Can Improve Your Health

5 Ways Pets Can Improve Your Health. Living with pets has a number of health benefits, like lowering blood pressure and anxiety, as well as boosting our immunity. Let’s not forget about getting dates either!

Allergy Fighters

More and more studies continue to show that kids growing up in a home with furry animals — whether it’s a pet cat or dog, farm animals, or even other children — are less likely to suffer from allergies and asthma. However, not all of them agree on the cause.

In his recent study of babies immediately after birth and one year later, James Gern found that kids who were regularly exposed to household pets had lower rates of allergies. He also found evidence that they were less likely to develop eczema (a common allergy skin condition) and showed higher levels of certain immune system chemicals. Love dogs? Your life will be easier thanks to this study.

Date Magnets

People are more likely to open up and meet new people when they interact with a dog. When sitting around at home, or in the office, it can be difficult for people to get out of their comfort zone and talk to someone. You don’t need the Internet for that! Instead, find a buddy in your pooch by watching it perform tricks. The conversation may stay at just being about the dog but sometimes it will escalate into a real social interchange.

Dogs for the Aged

There is evidence that having a pet around may significantly reduce worrying and anxious outbursts in people with Alzheimer’s. They’re able to take care of the pet themselves and companionship can also provide exercise and social interactions that are helpful.

Good for Mind and Soul

The repeated and pure joy of meeting a new dog can considerably lower the chances that an individual who is diagnosed with AIDS will develop depression. Outside of having your own pet, pets help alleviate depression by reducing the amount of low-grade stress in one’s life. Pet owners also have reduced levels of harmful chemicals like cortisol, which helps them to find healthy ways to reduce stress instead of turning to drugs or alcohol.

Individuals in stressful situations have decreased immune system strength because they’re not taking good care of themselves so they must turn to drugs or other unhealthy substances as means to cope with things.

Those who are able to socialize without resorting to violence are more likely to live longer than those who resort to violence; studies show a strong correlation between individuals who engage in these types of behaviors and death due to heart diseases.

AIDS-stricken humans who have pets have a lower amount of depression than those without them. “The benefit is especially pronounced when people are strongly attached to their pets,” says researcher Judith Siegel, PhD. In one study, stockbrokers with high blood pressure who adopted a cat or dog had lower blood pressure readings in stressful situations than did people without pets. People in stress mode get into a “state of dis-ease,” in which harmful chemicals like cortisol and norepinephrine can negatively affect the immune system.

Good for the Heart

People who own a pet have a significantly reduced chance of heart attack, according to a study. Stray or homeless pets live longer, according to research in the UK. Male pet owners have fewer risk factors for cardiovascular disease than non-owners and have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels.

Heart attack patients who have pets are more likely to survive than those without, according to several studies. Female pet owners may have lower triglycerides and cholesterol levels than non-owners, a study found.