Do you feel stressed? Discover the Health Advantages of Owning a Pet

When finding ways to reduce stress in life, techniques like meditation and yoga come to mind. Well, these are great techniques recommended by every health care professional. But nothing compares to the joy of coming home to a loyal pet. The unconditional love of a pet can decrease stress, and even improve your cardiovascular health.

As much as we love them, they find ways to love us. Moreover, they can even sniff out illnesses using just their senses. So, whether you have a dog, cat, cow, horse, or any other pet, they will provide health benefits.

5 Ways Pets Can Improve Your Health

• Increasing exercise. Those who have pets benefit from more exercise than the average person. Dog-owners especially feel more motivated to go for walks out of responsibility and will likely spend more time outside for a walk, hike, or run. You may not take the cat out for walks, but you get moving by playing with the cat and picking up toys. It’s not only good for your physical health, but it will also deepen the connection between you and your pet.
• Pets reduce stress and anxiety. Good bonding with pets can help ease anxiety and build confidence for people anxious about going out into the world. It’s because bonding with pets triggers higher levels of the stress-reducing hormone oxytocin. It decreases the production of the stress-inducing hormone cortisol. They can help you become more mindful and appreciative and teach you to enjoy the joy of the present.
• Pets can sniff out medical conditions. With over 220 million scent receptors compared to 5 to 10 million in humans, dogs can smell things that even doctors are not much aware of. They can sniff out medical issues easily as compared to humans. Dogs and cats can detect small changes in the human body and alert their owners by changing their behaviors. Generally, dogs have a better ability to smell illness as compared to other pets. They can smell medical conditions like cancer, narcolepsy, migraines, diabetes, and seizures.
• Pets help reduce blood pressure and heart problems. Pets can also be good for you if you have high blood pressure and heart problems. Even cardiologists recommend dogs for reducing low blood pressure and improving heart health. In a study, people who do not adopt dogs or cats have a higher blood pressure than those who adopt dogs.Also, the study shows that people with heart problems who own pets live longer than people with the same heart problems who don’t have pets.
• Improve Mood. Having pets in our lives can boost our moods and our well-being. It is impossible to stay in a bad mood if you have a pet. Apart from the social support, stress relief, and general health benefits pets can bring, pets can also enhance moods. A study found that those who have pets were less likely to suffer from depression than those who don’t have pets.

How to find the perfect pet

• Do you live in a small apartment or a big house with a backyard? For a small house a cat, snake, or caged animal is good, and a dog is fit for a big house.
• You can go for a pet who doesn’t need attention if you are out for most of the day due to work or other personal issues.
• Do you live with small children or with disabled people? In that case, a smaller animal would be a safer option.

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