Unlike any other pets, dogs can quickly bond with people, and this human-dog connection has numerous physiological and psychological health benefits. When these human-companions stare at people, the body responds by releasing a surge of the hormone oxytocin. This hormone is primarily responsible for bonding in most cases. Additionally, it also plays an essential role in lowering blood pressure.
Petting a dog Vs. Owners’ blood pressure
An essential hormone known as oxytocin remains integral in linking the human-pet bond with low blood pressure. Various researches show that dogs are renowned for making humans relax the way no other animal can. While this happens in the human body, petting your dog can also significantly relieve its stress and significantly strengthen the human-dog bond. It consequently cuts down the levels of stress hormone.
Importantly spending more time with your dog can better your mood by decreasing body response to stress hormones. In this perception, pet owners enjoy lower blood pressure, reduced heart rate, and lowered adrenaline stressor hormones.
Statistics show that petting a dog for as low as 5 minutes in a day can reduce stress levels by approximately 10 %. This result implies that pet owners are happier, less lonely and, more trusting than non-owner. Just imagine those few minutes you spend with your four-legged friend after a stressful day at work are keeping you away from stress-related treatments. Owing to these benefits, dog owners enjoy better cardiovascular and psychological health.
How the Human-Dog Bond Reduces Blood Pressure
Interacting with your four-legged friend primarily triggers the body to release the feel-good hormones, such as oxytocin, prolactin, and serotonin, which triggers various stress responses in the human body. According to statistics from researches, these hormones counteract the rising stress hormone cortisol when a person is faced with a stressful encounter. Notably, many antidepressant companies often replicate the functions of the hormone serotonin in lowering stress levels. Various animal-assisted intervention studies by renowned institutions such as the University of Missouri-Columbia and Purdue University’s Center for the Human-Animal Bond show that blood pressure drops by 10% when a person pets a dog.
Petting Animals Besides Dogs
While dogs constitute the largest percentage of four-legged friends most people domesticate at home, we also have other friendly animals such as furry cats, rabbits, as well as turtles. Further studies show that its not only dogs-human interaction that exhibits stress-relieving effects. However, petting other domestic animals also have the same impact eventually. However, most people love dogs when it comes to anxiety.
Effects of Growing Up Around Pets
Spending your childhood and adulthood around pets has a positive effect on the immune system. People the grew-up petting animals exhibit less stress in their adult lives. Research encompassing a group of German men asserts this claim. With 50% of the participants hailing a background with pets and the rest in the absence of pets, the researcher exposed the cohort to a stressful environment. Upon completing the task, they measured the number of surviving peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The result depicted that those that grew in environments surrounded by pets had a lower level of the hormone responsible for inflammatory immune response.
To Sum Up
Having and petting a dog can help reduce your blood pressure and fortunately, we get to do it every day at Woof Gang Bakery and Grooming. Ultimately, this simple kind gesture towards your pet is consequently beneficial for your cardiovascular health. Besides, it can also boost your immune system significantly. Find a pet today and enjoy the related health benefits. Pet a dog, get healthy!