The Femme Files

The Answer to Reducing Stress has Four Legs

I love my dog.  I could have the crappiest day in the office – but the moment I walk through the door and see my pup’s wide eyes and bum wiggle out of control, my mood lifts instantaneously.

Working in a high pressure job – I was always resistant when my husband suggested we get a pet.  “Who will walk her?  Who will mind her when we go away”  I would challenge in defence. 

But since our spaniel came into our lives, I’m fitter, less stressed and laugh more at home.

 That led me to question – can a dog really lower your stress levels?

In a recent study, written by Dr. Deborah Wells of Queen’s University, Belfast, for the British Journal of Health Psychiatry, it was concluded that dog owners tend to suffer less from ill health, depression, have lower cholesterol, and lower blood pressure.

“Dogs can directly promote our well-being by buffering us from stress,” said Dr. Wells. “The ownership of a dog can also lead to increases in physical activity and psychological human health in a more indirect manner.”

Relaxing or playing with your four legged friend helps boost endorphins and other mood-boosting neurochemicals. It also lowers stress chemicals like cortisol and norepinephrine that can interfere with sleep and create patterns of negative thinking and depression.

In fact, dogs are often recommended for their therapeutic benefit to people suffering from schizophrenia. Studies have shown that pet-owning Alzheimer’s patients “have fewer anxious outburts”.

Some insurance companies even ask elderly patients whether they have a pet – and lower their premiums if they do.

Rufus can reduce your allergies and asthma

Contrary to expectations, pet owners actually have less allergies and asthma than people who are not exposed to animal fur and dander. Research conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that infants raised in a dog-owning house from birth had fewer allergies and eczema by the time they were a year old than newborns who came home to a pet-free household.

Infants who were exposed to dogs showed 19% incidence of allergies, while 33% of the pet-free children had allergies at one year of age. Infants with dogs also had higher levels of certain immune system chemicals.

Incentive to Exercise

Last, but not least, pets motivate you to exercise. Since most modern diseases are linked to a combination of dietary factors and lack of exercise, a daily walk with your dog can be hugely significant in improving your health and lowering risks factors for almost every disease.

The decision to get a dog is not one to be taken lightly – I will write a blog about the atrocities arising as a result of rash purchases of animals from pet stores.  But it is clear that animals can enrich our lives and there is a great deal of truth in the cliché that “dog is man’s best friend”.

Tell us about your best friend – how has he or she changed your life?