Enthusiastic greetings, comforting cuddles and unconditional love. The idea that pets are good for our mental health isn’t new. But it turns out there are some surprising physical health benefits for sharing your house with a furry friend as well.
Back in the late nineteenth century Florence Nightingale noted that patients gained pleasure simply from the presence of a bird. Such early observations have snowballed into years of research into the effect of pets and animals on human health. While the research is not free from criticism, much of the work has found a positive link between pet ownership and physical health.
4 Surprising Health Benefits of Owning a Pet
1. Pets make you more active.
Research published in the journal BMC Public Health found that dog owners are more active than non-dog owners. The study fitted 43 pairs of dog owners and non-dog owners aged over 65 with activity trackers that measured their steps. From this, researchers found that dog owners walked an extra 22 minutes each day, or 2,760 additional steps.
But it’s not just dog walking that contributes to these extra steps. “We suspect that dog owners participate in activities related to interacting with or caring for their dog, such as taking the dog for a walk or letting the dog in and out of the house. These activities appear to add up in terms of movement,” says Nancy R. Gee, PhD, a professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia.
Researchers found that dog owners walked an extra 22 minutes each day, or 2,760 additional steps.
This is crucial, because sedentary behavior is thought to affect health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. “This type of activity is important for all age groups, but particularly so for older adults, who tend to have more sedentary lifestyles,” continues Dr. Gee, adding that, “Many health experts have indicated that sedentary behavior is the new smoking and it seems that dog ownership is associated with a reduction in that type of behavior in older adults.”
2. Pets may be good for your heart.
Owning a pet has been linked to lower blood pressure levels. A study of over 5,500 people found that pet owners had significantly lower systolic blood pressure than people without pets, despite having similar body composition and socioeconomic backgrounds. Another study analyzed 240 married couples, half who owned pets and half who didn’t. It found that people with pets had significantly lower heart rate and blood pressure levels. The study concluded: “People perceive pets as important, supportive parts of their lives, and significant cardiovascular and behavioral benefits are associated with those perceptions.”
Owning a pet may also be good news for your cholesterol levels. In a small cross-sectional, observational study of adults over the age of 60, pet owners had significantly lower triglyceride levels than those that didn’t own pets.
These seemingly small benefits matter. In 2013, the American Heart Association published a scientific statement on the link between owning a pet and protection from cardiovascular risk. After reviewing the available data regarding the influence of pet ownership on cardiovascular research, the statement concludes that pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, is “probably associated” with decreased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and may have a causal role in reducing CVD risk.
3. Dogs can help with recovery.
The main area of research in this area has looked at a dog’s ability to help patients recover from coronary heart disease. One study reported that dog owners were significantly more likely to still be alive one year after a heart attack than non-owners. There are no firm conclusions on why this is and there are most likely multiple factors at play such as dogs improving mental wellbeing, protecting owners from stress, reducing blood pressure and getting more exercise.
4. Dogs can be trained to spot early detection of diseases.
Increasingly, researchers are interested in whether dogs can spot early signs of physical ailments such as cancer. It’s easy to see how this could work as tumors typically produce odorous compounds and dogs have an incredible sense of smell. And while some dogs might be born with this innate talent, it appears from recent research that they can also be trained for detection.
So if you’re looking for a fun-loving (but not responsibility free!) way to get active and stay healthy, why not consider adopting a dog? With Rover by your side you’re bound to get more steps in every day, and certainly more smiles.
