The Irish Medical Times - Can pets help you live longer?
When you say ‘pet’ everyone thinks of a dog, but what about the self possessed little minx - the house cat. Cats are cool, they have a casual indifference to everything and they will always win in a staring contest. A study of 2,500 cat owners found they were significantly less at risk of dying from stroke or heart attack. The researchers theorized that it may be due to the buffering effect on stress that cats offer. And let's remember cats aren’t offering much, if they even deign to return home to you after a night on the tiles, you’re doing well.
But why do humans bond so intently to their pets? From a physiological perspective the human-animal interaction triggers the release of certain hormones such as dopamine and oxytocin, they play a key role in relaxation and bonding. The heightened relaxation, as the result of activated oxytocin release in the presence of pets, is what researchers suggest helps protect against stress related illness. They are also the hormones released when a person falls in love, or takes certain recreational drugs. So our options are; find Mr/Ms/Mx Right, become a drug addict, or get a pet - none of these are straightforward.
I like to bring everything back to the heart, per the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (it’s a real place) - “Pet ownership has also been found to regulate cardiovascular activity, including heart rate, even during sleep. In a study of over 200 patients with a coronary artery disease, pet ownership was found to modulate heart activity in owners, leading to less imbalance in autonomic nervous activity.” So should Cardiology Clinics start collaborating with animal shelters and start pairing pups with patients? There are stranger ideas out there.
Let’s not forget the pandemic and how Covid stripped us all to our mental core. A former Googler, Mo Gawdat tried to find an algorithm for happiness and wrote the book ‘Solve for Happy’, one of his key findings was the need to make connections. Covid broke our connections as we retreated into our government sanctioned oubliettes (aka ‘our homes’). We saw people turn to pets for companionship and social support.
The science shows that pets can help us tackle isolation and loneliness. A study of 400 residents in Australian suburbs found pet ownership to be associated with increased social contact and an increased perception of friendliness. The conclusion was that pet ownership could serve as a conduit to friendship and pets can be icebreakers to initiating new conversations. I know anytime I’ve walked in the park with friends dogs it's like random chaotic speed dating, anyone with a dog can start talking to anyone else with a dog, at any point, you can ask anything you like - is it a he or she? How old are they? Have they had a haircut recently? Do they give you any trouble? Are they house trained? Do they have a brother/sister up for grabs? And most importantly - were there many former owners?
A friend who recently got a dog told me ‘they bring the best out in everyone’. There is something about pets' non-judgemental adoration that I admire (not cats, cats are scathing judges, you know if a cat could speak it would be with coruscating wit). I also believe in science and studies, I think pets can elongate your life. But I’m happy to remain pet adjacent…for now.
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