Benefits of keeping pets at home

• Decreased blood pressure.
• Decreased cholesterol levels.
• Decreased triglyceride levels.
• Decreased feelings of loneliness.
• Increased opportunities for exercise and outdoor activities.
• Increased opportunities for socialization.

Pets help you brush off rejection

One of the benefits of owning a pet? Thinking of your pet as part of the family could help you get over social rejection. A study in the journal Anthrozoös asked volunteers to think about a past experience when they’d felt rejected, then to name a photo of a cat, dog, person, or toy. When asked about their feelings again, those who named an animal or a toy with humanlike qualities felt less negatively than those who’d given names to people. The researchers say people inclined to treat animals or objects like people (like when you talk to your pet) are also more prone to having traits like empathy and unconventional thinking to guard them against that negativity

Pets make you less lonely

Loneliness has been associated with heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other negative outcomes, but older adults who owned pets were 36 percent less likely to say they were lonely than those who didn’t have a furry friend, according to a study published in Aging & Mental Health. Especially among those who live alone, a pet could offer social interaction when other people aren’t around, the authors report 

Pets protect your heart

Owning a cat could lower your risk of dying from heart disease, a study in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neurology reports. The researchers found that those who said they’d owned a cat at some point in their lives had a lower risk of dying of a heart attack during the 20-year study than those who’d never owned one. Cats might help relax people during stress, or cat owners might tend to have traits that make them less at-risk.

Pets help keep your brain sharp

Research published in Anthrozoös found that older homebound adults who owned cats or dogs had better executive function (the skills you need to pay attention, remember details, and use past experience to decide how to act) than those who didn’t own a pet

Pets encourage you to get more exercise

Of course your pup needs walks, but that stroll is good for your health too—and dog owners don’t just use those jaunts to replace the exercise they’d do otherwise. A Michigan State University study found that one of the benefits of owning a pet are that people who own dogs exercise about half an hour more per week than those who don’t live with a dog.

Pets ease your pain

The benefits of having a dog don't stop with walking.  Spending time with your pet might help keep you off pain meds. A study in Anthrozoös found that adults who spent five to 15 minutes with a dog after joint replacement surgery used less pain medication than those who didn’t have animal-assisted therapy.

Pets make your kid less likely to have allergies

Babies with pets in the house are less likely to develop allergies later in life, according to a study in Clinical & Experimental Allergy. The study found that 18-year-olds who’d had a cat or dog in the family when they were less than a year old were about half as likely to be allergic to that animal as those who didn’t have an animal in the house. But early-life exposure is key—adopting a pet later as an adult won’t help your immune system in the same way.

Pets might help your child take better care of her blood sugar

Nine- to 19-year-olds who help take care of a pet are better at managing type 1 diabetes than those who aren’t responsible for a pet, according to a small study in the journal PLoS ONE. Kids who actively cared for a pet—not just saying they loved the family’s cat or dog—were 2.5 times more likely to keep up healthy blood sugar levels, the study found. The authors say kids who are in charge of pets might feel more responsible and be more used to routines.

Pets can help fight cancer

One of the incredible benefits of owning a pet might be in their ability to help detect cancer. According to a study published in British Medical Journal, dogs can accurately sniff out early stage bowel cancer with a surprisingly high degree of accuracy. A specifically trained Labrador completed 74 sniff tests, comprised of breath and stool samples. With these tests, the dog was able to correctly identify which samples were cancerous in 33 of 36 breath tests and 37 of 38 stool tests. Scientists indicate that there is also additional research and anecdotal evidence of dogs being able to accurately sniff out other forms of cancer as well, such as bladder, skin, lung, breast, and ovarian cancers.

Source: rd.com/