Having a dog makes you live longer: these are the 6 reasons
When West Carolina University psychologist Harold Herzog, he concluded in an investigation that having a dog makes you live longer, it really invited us to continue investigating how positive it can be to have a pet to care for, love and also receive affection from.
The lack of rigor in this type of study, according to Herzog, would be making it difficult to obtain more conclusions that will shed light on the demonstrable benefits that companion animals have on health. But even so, there are more and more tests that continue to consecrate the dog as man's best friend and much more.
Having a dog makes you live longer
These are some of the reasons why a dog can help you live longer and happier:
1. Fewer illnesses and allergies
Among the reasons why having a dog makes you live longer is the lower possibility of developing certain diseases as well as suffering from allergies. When you have this type of pet at home, the exposure of family members to different types of bacteria inherent in this animal increases.
In the case of the little ones who are lucky enough to grow up in a home with animals, they will be less likely to develop allergies later, and in the case of adults they also benefit from exposing their immune system to a series of substances that make them develop the appropriate defenses that will protect them at other times than need.
2. Help detect diabetes
In 2000, the British Medical Journal published an article in which a curious fact was released; more than a third of dogs whose owners have diabetes have behavioral changes when he suffers a drop in his blood sugar levels. In fact, in some cases it is the pets themselves who detect this change earlier than the person.
3. More health for your heart
A series of studies by Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Administration Medical Center, Houston (USA) has shown the ability of dogs to improve the heart health of their owners.
On the one hand, they find healthier triglyceride and cholesterol levels among owners of this type of pet compared to those who do not have it. On the other hand, the simple gesture of caressing a dog or feeling its body heat when leaning on its master, gradually decreases the heart rate as well as the blood pressure.
Do you want one more reason? The exercise that the owners of these animals carry out every time they take them out for a walk: they encourage them to practice an average of thirty minutes a day of walking, and some even take the opportunity to go for a run accompanied by your faithful pet. All this translates into better cardiovascular health.
4. Avoid work stress
There are more and more companies that allow their workers to bring their dogs to their offices, as they have had to surrender to the evidence of their employees' improved performance due to their increased well-being (in part it would be due to the possibility of reconciling their personal life with work by making working well compatible with the possibility of attending to their pets).
On the other hand, they are a great help to manage the intense work stress that can occur on certain occasions, both because of their ability to influence our state of mind when feeling close to a loved one as well as the possibility of reducing tension levels and pulsations (as we mentioned in the section previous).
But also, the possibility of being able to go out for a little walk on the street, can help ourselves to regulate our stress levels and change our perspective when it comes to seeing things (another big step in those moments).
5. Early detection of cancer
Without a doubt, this would be one of the most obvious reasons why having a dog makes you live longer, and that is if your pet begins to react in a strange way, as if wanting to cure you by licking a certain mole or a certain lump that you may have in some area, you should consider paying attention to it, since it could be detecting a possible cancer in its most phases early.
In recent times the capacity of these animals to react to this type of tumor formation.
6. Improves emotional health
For those with depression who have a dog, that they know that they have a great help to improve their condition, since the fact that they require their care daily routine favors establishing a routine that keeps them active, something that favorably influences their Recovery.
On the other hand, interaction with your pet encourages both positive mood such as the production of oxytocin, a substance that makes our brain feel very good.
In addition, those who have a dog are more likely to socialize with other dog owners with whom they cross in the usual places of walks and leisure. And the more sociable, the better we feel emotionally speaking.