Need To Lift Your Mood? Adopt A Pet!

You hear people talking all the time about how their pet is like their child, or that they enjoy taking them places with them, or have them to come home to after a long day. 

Well, there's actually science behind the fact that having a pet helps you with Stress, Anxiety, Depression and more! Looking at the factors of Unconditional Love, Reducing Stress, Talking To Someone Who Listens, and the stats behind it all - find some great excuses to get yourself a furry friend by reading these wonderful reasons why!

If you've ever had a dog, you know what Unconditional Love is. Cats are not as forgiving, but when it comes to a waggly tail at the front door, an animal to greet you will bring your heart through the roof, and make you forget about your stress for a few minutes. PsychCentral shares that even M.D.'s like Karen Swartz say that nursing-home residents felt less lonely with a dog around. Having a pet to snuggle up with you and show you attention is a great feeling, especially if you live alone or have family members or partners that aren't home the same times you are. A little face that runs the place in your heart, if you will.  And you'll never have to wonder if they love you - because they're right there with you every step of the way.

You hear people talking all the time about how their pet is like their child, or that they enjoy taking them places with them, or have them to come home to after a long day.

Well, there's actually science behind the fact that having a pet helps you with Stress, Anxiety, Depression and more! Looking at the factors of Unconditional Love, Reducing Stress, Talking To Someone Who Listens, and the stats behind it all - find some great excuses to get yourself a furry friend by reading these wonderful reasons why!

AnimalSmart.org shares that playing or petting an animal helps increase your levels of oxytocin and decreases cortisol. That alone can help your relaxation meter be on the winning side. The American Heart Association also shared a study from 2001, saying that patients with pets could keep their high blood pressure lower during times with pets.

You hear people talking all the time about how their pet is like their child, or that they enjoy taking them places with them, or have them to come home to after a long day.

Well, there's actually science behind the fact that having a pet helps you with Stress, Anxiety, Depression and more! Looking at the factors of Unconditional Love, Reducing Stress, Talking To Someone Who Listens, and the stats behind it all - find some great excuses to get yourself a furry friend by reading these wonderful reasons why!

Sure, you may feel a little insane at times having a conversation with your animal that's completely one-sided, but The Dodo points out a good fact about doing this exercise. "A pet will never try to fix you. You can sit with your pet on the couch for hours and just rant, and she won't try to advise you or solve all your problems. There are times when you just want to talk, and you don't need anyone to say anything back. A pet will simply sit there and love you. And sometimes, that's all you need."

You hear people talking all the time about how their pet is like their child, or that they enjoy taking them places with them, or have them to come home to after a long day.

Well, there's actually science behind the fact that having a pet helps you with Stress, Anxiety, Depression and more! Looking at the factors of Unconditional Love, Reducing Stress, Talking To Someone Who Listens, and the stats behind it all - find some great excuses to get yourself a furry friend by reading these wonderful reasons why!

Some of the stats that stand out the most from PetPartners.org are the following notes:

"A walking program that matched sedentary adults with therapy animals resulted in an increase in walking over a 52 week graduated intervention with the participants stating their motivation for adherence was “the dogs need us to walk them” (Johnson, 2010) [3]."

"Pet owners have higher one-year survival rates following heart attacks (Friedmann, 1980, 1995) [8,9]."

"Pet ownership, perhaps by providing social support, lowers blood pressure response to mental stress (Allen, 2001) [7]."

"The presence of an animal can significantly increase positive social behaviors among children with autism spectrum disorder (O’Haire, 2013) [4]."