Pets Offer Many Health Benefits
If you’ve got a pet or two living with you, you’re not alone. Millions of households across the United States and around the world are home to furry, scaly and feathered companions.
Having a pet around can have some pretty great benefits for your personal health. Studies have shown that pets are a calming influence on many and help reduce blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides. Because pets help to reduce stress, they could also be helping you prevent the onset of some pretty serious illnesses like hypertension, heart disease and more. Some studies have even shown that having a pet is a better way to control blood pressure than taking an ACE inhibiting drug! Whether you have problems with these or not, having a pet around certainly won’t hurt your health in that respect.
Of course, the benefits of pets aren’t just physical, but can be mental as well. Pets help to reduce loneliness and depression by providing companionship to those who are home-bound, in a new city or just prefer to spend time alone. The ability of pets to cheer us up is one of the chief reasons animals are brought in to visit those who are sick and ailing in hospitals, as happier people often recover more quickly. And if you’re in the market to make new friends, pets can help there too. They provide an opportunity to socialize with other pet owners or to get outside and go to the park or beach, where there are loads of other people to meet.
Dog and cat owners, especially can use their pets as a reason to get up and move around, taking pets for walks and playing with them indoors and out. Exercise can also help you reduce stress, one of the major factors in the development of numerous serious conditions. Even small changes in activity levels can make a big difference over time, and you’ll have your pets to thank for it.
While not everyone is an animal lover or can have animals be part of their lives, those who can should take full advantage of the benefits their companionship can offer. With a little love and care, aniamls can reward you with affection and a healthier life for years to come.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 at 11:25 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
