When West Carolina University psychologist Harold Herzog, concluded in a research study that owning a dog makes you live longer.Herzog’s conclusion, he was really inviting further research into how positive it can be to have a pet to care for, to love and to be loved.
The lack of rigor in this type of studies, according to Herzog, would be making it difficult to obtain more conclusions that would shed light on the demonstrable benefits that pets have on health. But even so, more and more evidence continues to establish the dog as man’s best friend and much more.
Having a dog makes you live longer
Here are some of the reasons why a dog can help you live longer and happier:
1. Fewer illnesses and allergies 2.
Among the reasons why having a dog makes you live longer is the lower chance of developing certain diseases as well as allergies. When you have this type of pet at home, it increases the exposure of family members to different types of bacteria inherent to this animal.
In the case of the little ones who are fortunate enough to grow up in a home with pets, the exposure of the family members to different types of bacteria inherent to this animal increases.In the case of adults, they will be less likely to develop allergies later in life, and adults also benefit from exposing their immune system to a series of substances that help them develop the appropriate defenses that will protect them at other times when they need it.
2. They help to detect diabetes
In the year 2000, the British Medical Journal published an article in which a curious fact was made known; more than a third of the dogs whose owners suffer from diabetes have changes in the immune system. dogs whose owners suffer from diabetes have behavioral changes when their when it suffers a drop in their blood sugar levels. In fact, in some cases it is the pets themselves who detect this change before the person themselves.
3. Healthier for your heart
A series of studies conducted by the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Administration Medical Center, Houston (USA) have demonstrated the ability of dogs to improve the heart health of their owners..
Man’s best friend is also very beneficial.
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On the one hand, they find healthier triglyceride and cholesterol levels among owners of this type of pet compared to those who do not have one. On the other hand, the simple gesture of petting a dog or feeling its body heat by leaning on its master, gradually lowers the heart rate and blood pressure.
Do you want another reason? The exercise that the owners of these animals do every time they take them for a walk: they encourage them to walk for an average of thirty minutes a day, and some even take the opportunity to go for a run with their faithful companion. to go for a run accompanied by their faithful pet.. All this translates into better cardiovascular health.
4. They avoid work stress
More and more companies companies that allow their employees to bring their dogs to their offices.They have had to surrender to the evidence of improved performance of their employees due to the increase in their well-being (partly due to the possibility of reconciling their personal life with work by making it compatible to work well with the possibility of taking care of their pets).
On the other hand, they are a great help to manage the intense work stress that can occur on certain occasions, both for their ability to influence our mood by feeling close to a loved one and for the possibility of reducing the levels of tension and pulse (as we mentioned in the previous section).
But in addition, the possibility of being able to go for a short walk in the street, can help us to regulate our stress levels and change our perspective when we see things (another big step in those moments).
These animals give us affection and companionship.
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5. Early detection of cancer
Undoubtedly this would be one of the most obvious reasons why having a dog makes you live longer, and if your pet starts to react strangely, like wanting to cure you by licking a certain mole or a certain bump you may have in some area, you should consider paying attention to it, as it could be detecting a possible cancer in its earliest stages.
In recent times it has been demonstrated the ability of these animals to react to this type of tumor formations.
6. Improves emotional health
For those people with depression who have a dogThey should know that they have a great help to improve their condition, since the fact that it requires their daily care favors the establishment of a routine that keeps them active, something that favorably influences their recovery.
On the other hand, interaction with your pet promotes both a positive mood and the production of oxytocin, a feel-good substance in our brain. and the production of oxytocin, a substance that makes our brain feel great.
In addition, those people who own a dog are more likely to socialize with other dog owners they come across in their usual places of walking and leisure. And the more social we are, the better we feel emotionally speaking.