Dogs make people happier and healthier. They have been known to reduce stress and keep busy owners from being depressed. Hospitals are beginning to bring therapy dogs into their facilities in order to help children and adults alike. Therapy dogs can make a big difference in the lives of many people, especially infants.
Infant health may be improved after receiving therapy from therapy dogs according to research done at Uppsala University in Sweden. Fifty infants were studied for five months while receiving care from their parents and nurses, some of whom interacted with dogs during the study while the other half did not. The infants who interacted with dogs showed greater improvement in preterm babies compared to those who did not interact with dogs. This new information shows how therapy dogs can really make a difference in healthcare facilities.
Infants who are preterm are known to have difficulty feeding, sleeping, and gaining weight while they are hospitalized. The study showed that when dogs were introduced into the hospital environment, the preterm infants’ activity levels increased by thirty percent during their stay at the nursery. Preterm infants who did not have therapy dogs visited during their stay showed no improvement, instead of receiving more supplemental oxygen and feeding tubes. The benefits of therapy dogs are long-lasting even for infants who are able to go home without any medical equipment.
Researchers suggest that perhaps intervention with pets can help to reduce the stress levels in preterm infants, which may make them less fussy and therefore improve their chances of gaining weight. According to social scientists at Johns Hopkins University, having a pet enhances humans’ lives by promoting physical activity, reducing stress, increasing opportunities for socialization, improving morale, and generally making people happier.
Pet health and infant health boost
Animals are found to have a wide range of positive effects on human health. Pets can reduce stress, increase opportunities for socialization, improve morale, and make people happier.
Some organizations are now paying attention to pet ownership as an important step to improving human health. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco believe that pets, more so than humans, can serve as caretakers of elderly individuals who are more likely to have social isolation. This is because the bond between pet and owner is not one of social function but of pure companionship.
Pets also provide a sense of safety for children which means that they will be less likely to develop anxiety disorders or become fearful of strangers if their parents have pets. The more children interact with animals, the more likely they are to develop empathy and caring for others.
Having a pet can be very beneficial as it can increase opportunities for exercise. Pets need to be walked every day which means that owners must walk them as well. Studies have shown that having a dog increases physical activity in people, especially the elderly and those living alone, by about thirty minutes a day. This is a much-needed boost of daily exercise for those who do not get enough from going outside or going to work. Recent evidence also suggests that relationships between humans and their pets may affect heart health positively because they provide social support and companionship thereby reducing stress levels throughout the body.
Pets can even improve mental health such as one’s mood. Studies show that pet owners are happier than non-pet owners because they have companionship and give them unsolicited moments of affection. Pets can also act as an emotional buffer during difficult times by providing unconditional love to the owner who may need this support at that moment.
Pet therapy has been used to help children with autism build social skills because many individuals on the spectrum lack the ability to form relationships with humans. Dogs are unswayed by their unresponsiveness so they can serve as a bridge between child and adult for developing healthy communication patterns. Many children with autism take comfort in hugging pets which helps them gain self-confidence around others through these interactions.
Healthy pets and serious health issues- How Dogs May Help Boost Infant Health?
– Why Pets are Good for Your Mental Health
– The Role of Pets in Reducing Stress
– Mental Health Benefits of Pets Extensive Research
– Pet Therapy for Elderly People/ Autistic Children
– Reduce stress and boost mental health, less medication
– Studies have shown that dogs can help children cope with asthma, epilepsy, or diabetes as well as their parents.
>Studies have shown that dogs affect the cortisol response in humans; all animals capable of being domesticated produce this hormone which is associated with relaxation and sleep induction.
Over the past few years, scientists have been studying the possible mental health benefits of pets and it’s a pretty interesting case. Pets have long been attributed to having a professional role in terms of reducing stress for patients in hospitals or nursing homes but new studies are showing they may have more value than just being there when you need them most.
In one study from 2012 by Emily J. Lambert, she discovered that people with dogs coped better with mental health issues such as depression and allergies. In addition, pet owners also had lower reports of medication use through regular doctor appointments and higher levels of exercise per week. On top of that, in my own research, I’ve found that animals help reduce stress in autistic children, elderly people, and even cancer patients.
Pet and liver disease
A person who has liver disease may have pain in their abdomen, lack of appetite, vomiting, dark urine, light-colored stools, jaundice (yellow skin and whites of the eyes), excess fluid in body tissues, or cavities that cause puffiness or swelling. Liver disease is often caused by alcohol abuse or non-alcoholic fatty liver.
Liver disease and dogs
Though research on dog liver disease is limited and it is hard to generalize, there are several signs that pet owners may notice if their dog has liver issues: hyper- or hypoactivity, progressive weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite, drinking water excessively.
Benefits of owning a healthy pet
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), pets can be beneficial for people with liver disease. If you have had your pet for at least six months and consider them a member of the family – not just an animal – they can help alleviate stress and improve your quality of life. The NIH also states that children reap numerous benefits from having a pet. Evidence shows that kids who own pets tend to have better social skills and get better grades in school.
In the same light, owning a healthy pet dog may help boost an infant’s health. Some of the benefits of having a furry friend include lower blood pressure, improved heart rate, and reduced anxiety levels in children born to mothers who owned a healthy pet while pregnant.
