Can Pets Lift our Moods and make us Healthy?

A Blissful Pet = Instant Good Mood"

Do pets lift your moods on a bad day? is the most asked question for any pet owner. Pets of all kinds and breeds are helping individuals with a wide range of psychological conditions, including anxiety, mood, autism and health conditions. 

Research has proven that having pets can actually boost our mood and make us happy and calm.

It has been proven that stroking our pet can decrease the amount of cortisol (stress-inducing hormone) thereby reducing our stress and increases the level of serotonin in our body. 

What are the Top 3 Benefits of Having Mood Lifting Pets?

The mere presence of pets in our home boosts our moods and provides us immediate joy and happiness. Apart from this, they offer many physical and psychological benefits.

• Pets especially dogs are just like any other human friend. They look at our eyes and can easily understand our emotional state. Dogs can comprehend the meaning of our words and also interpret our voice, body language and thereby making us feel better. 
• Pets can decrease our stress, anxiety, and depression. They can help with our loneliness and provides us unconditional love and companionship.
• Mammals like Dogs and cats encourage us to exercise and play with them thereby improve our cardiovascular health. 

Can any pet improve our health and lift our moods?

People owning pets have reported many physical and psychological benefits. Pets don't really mean just dogs or cats. Any pet can provide you with the same companionship and health benefits. 

• Having Birds as a pet can increase our interaction with other and help sharpen our mind.
• Reptiles like lizards and snakes are also excellent companions but sometimes can lead to infections like salmonella.
• Having Fish or watching them in Aquariums can reduce our pulse rate and tension in the muscles. 
• Rabbits are quite similar to dogs and cats because of their furry nature. They are excellent companions for snuggling and take up little space. 

Is it True that Petting Dogs or any Pets is like a Drug For Our Brains?

Research has found that there is one more way by which our pets make our lives even better. We might think that our brain processes our sensations in a similar way but it doesn't.

The Brain categorizes the touch sensation into "pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant feelings" and thereby eliciting the subsequent emotions in us. 

Each stimulus is interpreted in different ways in the brain area called the anterior cingulate cortex which is responsible for emotional processing. Therefore, a pleasant stimulus on our skin can elicit positive emotions in humans.

Does Pets lift our moods and create a mother-child bond with us?

Our brain releases two feel-good hormones called serotonin and dopamine when we interact with pets which can boost our moods.

Serotonin and Dopamine levels are low in people with depression and hence pets are a great companion for people with Depression. 

Research has found that mere staring at dogs or any other mammals can help release the hormone oxytocin in our brain which helps in forming a bond between mother and newborn child.

How does Having a Pet Improve Our Health?

Pets especially Therapy Dogs are proven to reduce the levels of stress by reducing cortisol in humans.

We might be stressed about the upcoming exam, pressure in our new job, or even the stress of losing our loved one, whatever it is that we are stressed about, petting dogs is proven to reduce that stress.

Having pets can improve cardiovascular health since we will be moving around and exercising a lot than people without pets. They decrease our blood pressure and reduces our chance of getting a heart attack.

Children who were grown together with dogs have a strong immune system and show reduced allergy infections.

What if I can't own Mood Lifting Pets in my Home?

Sometimes, we can't own pets because of our allergies, finances, home space, or any other issues. People who can't own pets can always make use of organizations and companies like happy tails, happy paws, a happy dog shop, happy pet club, happy tails pet care and so much more.

One can spend some time at these places and can get an equal amount of psychological and physical benefits from pets especially dogs and cats.

Therapy dogs are also available to interact with humans for some time. Dogs reduce stress and anxiety. Cats and Dogs sense depression and hence one can make use of these options for better physical and mental health.

Conclusion

Whether you are a young child, a teenager, an older adult, or someone with mental health conditions, pets can be a great companion for you to feel less lonely and overwhelmed and at the same time boost your moods and improve your health. 

The Bond between the pet and its owner can help fill that void a person is experiencing with strong social support, sense of purpose/meaning, and unconditional love.