This article brought to you by Golden Bear Cottages
Article by Billie Bueler – Rim Chiropractic
Everywhere you go these days, you see people with their pets! Not just service dogs, but their beloved pets, sometimes tucked into a fancy bag, sometimes donning a sweater if the weather is cool, and even wearing sunglasses! People and their pets, what is the secret these pet owners are keeping?
Everyone has heard that pets are good for us, but how? What exactly is it, besides the sweet cuddles and the adorable play wrestling?
Well, it turns out that our “fur babies” have some pretty incredible benefits! And not just dogs…cats, fish, horses, birds…they all share the number one benefit; they boost our mental health! And in very tangible ways, that’s not just a feel-good statement. A 2016 study at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom was done, including patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and PTSD. The results solidified what we all have suspected to be true; pets give us a feeling of peace, security and even help us feel in control. The participants reported less depression, more feelings of connection and a sense that they were needed. For those of us not mentally ill, the fact remains that when some other living creature either loves us or just simply needs us to survive, the effects are very powerful. This gets us out of bed in the morning, and keeps us on a steady path because we care for them, and don’t want to let them down, right?
It’s even been shown to be beneficial for those who are chronically ill, or otherwise physically disabled or in chronic pain. The other groups of people who benefit in this way include recovering addicts, the elderly, kids with ADHD, and those on the autism spectrum. This is not an exhaustive list, of course, but it does show how the emotional benefits of pet ownership affect a pretty big number of people.
Here’s the second benefit…and it’s a whopper. Pets actually lower blood pressure! When you’re under stress, your body produces a stress hormone called cortisol. This is the hormone that directs the body to shut down some processes, and to increase others. Running from danger wouldn’t be very effective if you had to stop to rest, so the body gets the signal from cortisol to increase the blood pressure so that more oxygen and nutrients are delivered to the muscles until the danger passes. The release of cortisol in short bursts is great and serves us well. But it isn’t great when this hormone is constantly being sent out through the body causing blood flow to be on this kind of alert. The sense of peace a pet provides while you pet it, or just watch it sleep or play, reduces the levels of cortisol your body sends “to the rescue.”
The same can be said for a pet’s ability to lower cholesterol levels. The consistently high levels of cortisol that raise blood pressure also increase inflammation. The body produces more cholesterol to soothe areas of inflammation. If these areas are found in the blood vessels, this cholesterol forms a bandage of sorts, allowing the damaged vessel to heal… But the constant application of a cholesterol bandage can pose its own problems, one being a clogging of the arteries or vessels, and a second being the increased blood pressure that accompanies stress induced cholesterol can then break loose some of the bandage, and this can travel in the blood and be lodged in the lungs or the brain, causing a stroke.
A study done in 2014 suggests a reduction in stress is also imperative when preventing or reversing metabolic syndromes such as increased triglycerides, and type II diabetes. Nice to know your pet can assist you here as well, isn’t it now?
And as if that isn’t enough, let’s finish off this amazing list of benefits with one that can’t be understated. Your little Fido there (or Fluffy, or Nemo, or Sea Biscuit, or Polly…you get the idea) strengthens your immune system! You have some proteins that mediate communication between cells that are called Interleukins. One in particular, IL-2, signals molecules in the immune system. Others stimulate immune responses such as inflammation. These proteins are increased with exposure to pet dander and other germs. Exposing your baby to pets for the first six months of his or her life gives them a gigantic boost in immune health, lowers risk of allergies and asthma1, and makes for super cute photos! Ok, I just threw that last one in, but…am I right? You can’t wait until adulthood to get the allergy or asthma benefits, but you will have a stronger than average immune system if you have a pet. No doubt.
So, good on you for getting your kids a dog, or keeping that cat everyone said should go when you brought the baby home. Pets have amazing health benefits, as you see here, and all they ask for from you is a safe home, clean water, healthy food and your love. Yes, and some elbow grease, I know, but it’s all worth it, don’t you agree?
1 The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Nov,2005, vol 116,Issue 5, pgs 1048-1052, Marjut Roponen PhD,et al Kuopio, Finland