About

Curious what the research say about the benefits of pets? We all know that they make us feel good but how specifically? In a review study of 69 research article in 2012 by Beetz et al it was found that pets have the follow physiological and psychological benefits:

• Improvement of social attention, behavior, interpersonal interaction, and mood
• Reduction of stress-related parameters such as cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure
• Reduction of self-reported fear and anxiety
• Improvement of mental and physical health, especially cardiovascular health
• Reduction of stress-related parameters such as epinephrine and norepinephrine
• Improvement of immune system functioning
• Improved pain management
• Increased trustworthiness of and trust toward other persons
• Reduced aggression
• Enhanced empathy
• Improved learning

They concluded, “while we believe that the activation of the OT [oxytocin] system is a core mechanism in explaining the majority of reported effects of HAI [human animal interaction], we are aware that it cannot explain all effects and that other mechanisms, physiologically as well as psychologically based, are involved. Frequently cited factors in research on HAI are e.g., the unconditional love and acceptance which animals provide to clients of animal-assisted interventions and their owners and the social catalyst effect.”