February 28, 2019
Why Your Life is Healthier with a Pet
While owning a pet can be a big responsibility, there are some significant health benefits to opening your home to a furry, feathered or fishy friend. This is likely old news to you if you’re already a pet owner, but if you’re on the fence on whether you should adopt a pet, here’s how your life could be healthier with one.
Pets Help You Stay Active
This is a big one for dog owners, as dogs require daily exercise to stay fit and healthy. Dogs not only need to get out to use the bathroom, but walks around the neighborhood or in parks keeps their bodies in shape and their minds sharp. When you join them on a walk, the same is true for you – you’re also burning calories and raising your heart rate.
Sometimes after a walk your dog can get a little, how do you say it, stinky. When it’s time for a bath, consider a sulfate-free gentle Dog Shampoo.
Owning a Pet Has Proven Health Benefits
There are positive benefits to owning a pet beyond an excuse to take a walk. Research has shown that owning a pet helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Watching your pet at play or just spending time with them helps you feel calmer and less stressed. The sensation of petting your dog or cat can reduce levels of cortisol – a stress hormone – while raising levels of serotonin – the chemical in our brain that helps us feel good. Isn’t that awesome?
Pets Offer Companionship and Can Make You More Social
It’s often said that pets offer unconditional love; as long as you don’t mistreat them, they’ll forge an unbreakable connection with you. In fact, both cats and dogs are legally defined as “companion animals” – which speaks to how much they can enrich our lives. They really are our best friends.
Owning a pet also offers opportunities to get out and be social. They give you additional points of contact for conversations, and create opportunity to build connections with other pet owners. You have a lot of things in common, anyway! Whether you’re exchanging training advice or sharing happy moments, your experiences with your pets offer new ways to connect with others – which is big boost to your emotional health.
Pets Teach Us to Be Better People
It must be said that pets are a big responsibility becausetheir well-being depends on the level of care and attention you can give to them. That kind of responsibility can give your life meaning and purpose. The daily routine of caring for a pet may feel like a chore at times, but it allows you to create structure and stability.
This is even more important with children. Having pets in the house with children can seem like a hassle, but it’s far outweighed by how much your children will learn about caring for others, picking up after themselves, living up to expectations, and having empathy for other living things.
While cats and dogs are the most popular types of pets, any domesticated animal from birds and lizards to horses and rabbits, can increase our emotional, mental, and physical health. Share your life and your love, and you’ll reap the rewards.
