By: Mia Wang
Researchers confirmed that spending as little as five minutes with a dog can increase happiness and decrease stress. If you ever had a long day at school or work, and feel terrible, typically all you want to do is just lay in bed all day. For those with dogs, they can help melt away all your negativity on these bad days!
Researchers say dogs can give you well-needed amounts of oxytocin, known as the love hormone. Oxytocin also makes us less stressed. Nancy Gee, a professor of psychiatry and director of the Centre for Human-Animal Interaction, said, “I think it is safe to say that animals are beneficial to our mental and physical health” (Body and Soul). There is clear evidence of a rise in oxytocin and a drop in cortisol, the stress hormone, in people who spend five to twenty minutes with a dog.
Professor Gee says that it’s a two-way street. “We see the same thing in the dogs, so their oxytocin also increases when they interact with a human” (Kids News). That’s why we see dogs wagging their tails when interacting with us.
During a study conducted in the UK, Nancy Gee and her team found that eight and nine-year-old children who have two weekly exchanges with puppies are less stressed and more focused. Their reasoning and thinking skills are also improved. The effects aren’t always immediate, however. These observations were concluded after a month of studies, but in some, it may take up to six months or more to experience an effect.
Another study done in Canada found that university students feel less stress and homesickness after short connections with dogs. Getting to touch the dogs resulted in a more significant effect.
Not only do dogs make you feel less stressed and more happy, but they can also make you more active and physical. They pull you off your phone, dragging you off the couch even on a rainy and wet day.