How do pets help people

It can also help you relax and practise mindfulness. Pets can be affectionate, accepting, loyal, honest and consistent. If you feel isolated with little support, a pet can help reduce your loneliness. Most people feel better when they have physical contact with others. Simply patting a pet can lower your heart rate. Most pets require a routine of feeding, cleaning and exercise. This can give you purpose and motivation which can help your self-esteem , wellbeing and mental health.

A pet can provide you with a sense of purpose, which helps improve mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. If you have a pet, you are never alone and you are also responsible for looking after them. Pets create opportunities for better social interaction, especially if you join an animal club or attend pet shows. Going to pet-friendly events, beaches or parks can also help increase your social network.

You could make new friends just by taking your dog for a walk or waiting at the vet, due to the shared interest in your pets. If you have a fear of social situations, or social phobia , a pet can help with slowly introducing you to other people who also have pets and enhance your mental health. If you own a dog, they need regular walks, and this exercise is good for you too. Exercise , like walking, has many benefits for your mental health and wellbeing.

You can also use the time walking your dog to improve your fitness and make the most of the outdoors to help you further develop mindfulness and relaxation.

Studies have shown that dog ownership is linked with a lower risk of death over the long term, which is possibly due to a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease. If you have a fear of social situations, or social phobia, a pet can help with slowly introducing you to other people who also have pets and enhance your mental health.

If you are considering getting a pet, ReachOut suggests you should think carefully about whether you can look after a pet. Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content. We all know that pets doing hilarious things win the internet, but did you know that pets can also be winners for mental health, too? Read more on ReachOut. Did you know that Australia has one of the highest levels of pet ownership in the world?

And then there are horses, guinea pigs, fish, birds. Researchers on all three Tufts campuses are working on studies to assess those emotional and physiological benefits. The psychological state of children and parents who receive a minute visit with a therapy dog will be compared with that of families who do not receive therapy-dog visits. Physical effects, such as heart rate and blood pressure, also will be assessed in the children. Another hot area of investigation at Tufts is how animal-health challenges can attract more girls and other traditionally underrepresented groups to careers in science and technology.

Understanding how animals may encourage participation in healthy pursuits as well as educational activities could have public health value, says Rogers. Linder, a veterinary nutritionist at Cummings School, and experts from the Friedman School are examining the potential for animals to be partners in addressing the childhood obesity epidemic. What are the barriers and facilitators for having a joint physical activity program where you exercise with your pet?

If so, can our experts in pediatric nutrition and fitness, psychology and veterinary nutrition design a fitness program where dogs create the social network that encourages kids to exercise? Jennie Dapice Feinstein, J98, G05, a Tufts-trained occupational therapist, has seen firsthand the power of employing a therapy dog in her work helping children with physical or behavioral disabilities to build the skills needed to get through the day, be it getting dressed or eating a meal.

In traditional occupational therapy, she might ask the boy to try to touch his toes. Instead, she asks the boy to fill a dog bowl with water, hold it in both hands and slowly lower it to the ground so her specially trained therapy dog, Norm, can drink. Research conducted through the Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction will help therapy animals, too. At Touchstone Farm , a nonprofit in Temple, New Hampshire, Mueller, the developmental psychologist, is working on two studies about equine-assisted therapy.

The first study assessed the well-being of horses in a therapeutic riding program for children, ages 8 to 14, with behavioral disorders. Horses are often incorporated into therapy because their intimidating size makes them good metaphors for the challenges or emotional baggage we carry. What is that doing to them, at least physiologically? You might find a young animal that appears to be abandoned and want to rescue it, but often its parent is close by. If you are concerned about the safety of a wild animal, contact a local wildlife rehabilitation facility.

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Wash Your Hands. Keep Your Pet Healthy. Practice Good Pet Hygiene. Teach Children How to Interact with Animals. Keep Wildlife Wild. Casey Barton Behravesh provides 4 simple ways to stay healthy around your pets. Casey Barton Behravesh discusses how to pick the right pet for your family. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.

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