We all know that having a pet is a great feeling, there is the unconditional love you receive from them and pets are great fun to play with and you never know what funny things they will do next. However, do you know that pets can provide excellent social support, stress relief and other health benefits—perhaps more than people!
For anyone who is a pet owner or loves animals, knows how hard it is to stay in a bad mood when those loving eyes look up at you or come to you looking for a cuddle. Studies have shown that owning a pet can help to ease symptoms of depression.
Pets may help relieve stress and anxiety by encouraging playfulness and promoting laughter, there is nothing better than playing with your pet irrelevant of what type of pet it is and watching their funny reactions. Keeping a pet is similar to having a little baby with you, with whom you get emotionally attached and enjoy yourself.
Many experts believe that pets have a therapeutic effect of comfort on people. They are soft, soothing to stroke and non-judgemental. Pets can make you feel their presence and love in many ways that people can’t. They can offer love and companionship, and can also enjoy comfortable silences, keep secrets and are excellent snugglers. And they could be the best antidote to loneliness. Pets also seem to meet the need for companionship and relationship building that is not always available to some individuals. In addition to that, pet owners living alone say they are less lonely and report fewer minor health problems.
Anyone who owns a pet knows the unconditional love a pet offers. But do you know that your blood pressure and triglyceride and cholesterol levels tend to remain healthy because of that unconditional love you share with your cuddling sweetheart, which in turn might promote a measure of protection from heart disease.
Pet owners are also more likely to survive a heart attack than those who don’t have pets, according to a 1995 study published in the American Journal of Cardiology.
A study on a group of stockbrokers with high blood pressure proved that those with pets had lower blood pressure and heart rates than the proportion of the group that didn’t own a pet. After the results of the study were published most of the stockbrokers without a pet went out and got themselves a pet.
Having a pet has even been shown to give 30% less chance of developing certain types of cancer. Amazing! Isn’t it? So go and find yourself a cuddling mate to spend time with!