There's something that can help people with everything from loneliness to heart disease,from social interaction to staying committed to an exercise program.
It's not a drug and it's not a class,but for many who own one or more,it's therapy.
If you've been doggedly pushing your folks to get a pet,here's some am-meow-nition for your argument.
I preface by saying that I'm a pet lover. I'd love dogs.
I've had dogs my whole life.
And I've always known that dogs improve your mood.
Certainly,if you have a dog,or any kind of pet,you know what I'm talking about.
But now,there's data to show that it can improve your health as well.
People who are pet owners tend to have lower blood pressure,lower triglycerides and lower cholesterol levels.
I'm not exactly sure why that is.
It could be that they're more active as a result of having a pet.
But whatever the reason,having a pet seems to improve both your emotional,as well as your physical well-being.
Stress,anxiety and depression are something that plague all of us at one time or another.
But we know now,even more than anecdotally that people who are pet owners tend to have lower levels of these things,particular a hormone known as cortisol.
Think of that as the stress hormone.
When you have a lot of cortisol in your body,it's usually a result of some sort of stressor in your body.
If you are a pet owner,you tend to have a lower levels of cortisol overall.
It's not that you can't get stress,it's not that you can't get anxious or even depressed at times,but the peaks and the valleys tend to be much more muted.
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