Pets and other animals can help with mental and physical health

Would you have guessed that furry friends are more than cheerful companions? Having a pet can reduce your stress, and  have a calming presence. If you grow up with a dog, your chance of type 1 diabetes is cut in half, and you are much less-likely to develop asthma and or allergies. 

At Washington State University in Pullman the developmental psychologist, Patrica Pendry, has spent years studying how stressful homes can affect kids' health. She is now searching  for ways to reduce children's stress. Spending time with animals is one. Her work is mostly focused  on a hormone called cortisol. Your body creates more of this hormone when you are stressed, and it makes less when you are calmer. She measures corsital  in college students before and after spending time with animals. When the students arrive, they spit into a tube which gives Pendry a saliva sample. After that they will spend the next 10 minutes doing one thing. They will either be in a room with animals, be watching the people with the animals, seeing pictures of the people with the animals or see no glimpse of the animals whatsoever. As you can guess, the people with the animals had the lowest cortisol levels.

When young children read aloud to dogs, it provides much support that is sometimes needed to advance a child's reading skills. In a 2020 study in Australia, people brought therapy dogs to four schools. Little kids who struggled to read had one on one time with the dogs and after reading to the dogs for about 12 weeks, most of the children's reading improved. Therapy dogs do not only help with reading either, a 2021 study showed that therapy dogs can reduce kids' stress while getting their teeth cleaned at the dentist. Service animals also can help children with autism. With this condition, making friends can be much harder. With a dog, opportunities for making friends are opened up. The child can socialize with other kids if another child wants to see their dog. 

Kids who grow up with pet(s) have a boost to their immune system. These children are 40% less likely to develop asthma. They are also 28% less likely to have allergies and their chance of type 1 diabetes is cut in half. The reason behind this is that your body is designed to fight off harmful germs and bacteria, but asthma, allergies and type 1 diabetes are all caused by your body fighting off bacteria that is actually not harmful. For example, if you are allergic to eggs your body senses that you have ingested something harmful, when in reality eggs are not harmful to most other people. So you are probably wondering how pets can help with this. Well, when a dog or outdoor cat goes outside they take bacteria from the outside and then they bring it inside and this strengthens your immune system by introducing young kids to germs at an early age. 

Are you now thinking about adding a furry friend to your family? Remember, pets can lower your stress, have a calming presence, and give your immune system a boost. If you think a dog or a cat is too much to handle then hamsters or gerbils can be just as helpful!