Pet owners might have often experience that spending time with their beloved dogs or cats reduces stress and improves mood.
According to a report reviewed by Medical News Today, people with mental health issues often look for emotional or psychological comfort by spending time with their pets. In fact, the report concluded that pets must be part of mental health care because of their valuable contribution to psychological health and well-being.
Now, a new study has found that pets indeed help improve mental health.
Researchers Patricia Pendry and Jaymie L. Vandagriff of the Department of Human Development at Washington State University in Pullman examined the psychological benefits of pets on college students.
The study was published in the journal American Educational Research Association (AERA) Open.
The researchers looked at nearly 250 college students and divided them into four groups:
- First group: Participants were asked to spend time with dogs and cats for 10 minutes, playing and stroking with the pets.
- Second group: Other participants interacting with the pets while they were waiting for their turn.
- Third group: Participants watched a slideshow of the pets.
- Fourth group: Participants simply sat and waited in silence.
The researchers also collected saliva samples of the participants to test their cortisol (stress hormone) levels.
Pendry and Vandagriff revealed that the participants who interacted with the pets had significantly lower cortisol levels.
Pendry said, “Students in our study that interacted with cats and dogs had a significant reduction in cortisol, a major stress hormone.” She added, “We already knew that students enjoy interacting with animals and that it helps them experience more positive emotions.”
The co-author also said, “What we wanted to learn was whether this exposure would help students reduce their stress in a less subjective way. And it did, which is exciting because the reduction of stress hormones may, over time, have significant benefits for physical and mental health.”
“Just 10 minutes can have a significant impact,” explained Pendry. This was probably the first research that involved college students and shows reductions in cortisol levels in a real-life scenario rather than lab studies.
