Friday, March 9, 2012

A Pet Can Help You Stay Healthy

By Dana Cain


It's a well-known fact that owning a pet can be good for companionship, but it can also be good for your health. Most people know that pets can help complete our lives, and reputable scientific research shows that companionship animals help both our bodies and minds. Lowered anxiety and stress, lower blood pressure and stable heart rate are three health benefits that pets can give their owners, aside from the more obvious benefits like companionship, and providing their owners a diversion during lazy days and unconditional love and good behavior for the most part. If loved by their owners, pets will respond accordingly to the affection and care lavished upon them.

Pets can improve the lives of their owners, may they be young adults, children or parents, but they can also be great for the older set in helping them live longer. According to studies, pets can help elderly people enjoy their lives and stay healthy, allowing them to live longer as well. The American Geriatrics Society published in the May 1999 issue of their journal a study showing that independent-living seniors with pets showed better physical and mental health as compared to similar seniors without any pets for companionship. Pets have indeed helped these seniors stay happy and healthy while generally avoiding everyday tension.

At first, having a pet to take care of sounds like a chore. But it is exactly that work involved - changing water, feeding, grooming, walking, playing and petting - that helps reduce anxiety, lower one's heart rate and increase the levels of serotonin and beta-endorphins for the benefit of our health. The simplest actions of taking care of your pets, like opening a doggy door or replacing the water for your feline friend, are all ways to improve one's cardiovascular state as well as exercise joints. It may not be a real workout, but it helps pet owners stay healthy.

The intangible benefits of having a pet cannot be ignored either. These benefits would include physical contact, companionship, obedience, and above all, unconditional love. Pets can provide an emotional boost to the elderly, as well as those without homes or friends and family to turn to. Pet ownership can spell the difference between reacting with or without grace when faced with a crisis. And finally, pets offer protection to people in nursing homes, those suffering from separation anxiety or isolation, and loners who often choose not to interact with other people.

As stated previously in this article, pets are ideal companions for older people, as they provide support, keep them motivated and interested in living their lives to the fullest, and allow them to take care of routines like buying groceries or simply leaving the house. Medical conditions such as depression and anxiety can easily be eliminated with the help of a pet.




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