Researchers say that petting other people’s dogs brings several health benefits. Just five minutes with these furry friends can significantly lower the stress hormone cortisol. At the same time, levels of the “feel-good” hormone oxytocin rise in both humans and dogs. Pet owners get even more benefits, including better heart health.
What Did Researchers Discover?
No one needs convincing that petting a dog boosts your mood. However, more studies show it can also have real health benefits for people.
Even brief positive interactions between people and dogs can have lasting effects. They lower stress hormone levels and increase levels of the “love hormone,” oxytocin. There’s growing evidence that short moments with a friendly pup can help people think more clearly.
In one experiment, brief twice-weekly sessions between schoolchildren and dogs improved teenagers’ reasoning and concentration. Researchers found the effects persisted for several months afterward.
Interacting with Dogs Is Not a Cure-All, but It Benefits Health
Professor of Psychiatry Nancy Gee says animals are good for both mental and physical health. She leads the Center for Human-Animal Interaction, which studies the potential healing effects of human-animal contact. Her team has observed very positive outcomes.
Gee cautions that pets aren’t a cure-all. Many therapy dogs in her group’s studies were carefully chosen for their friendly, gentle behavior and their willingness to follow commands.
Not everyone can be around dogs—allergies or personal temperament can make it difficult. But Gee told the Daily Mail that for people who want to interact with animals, the bond can make a real difference.
Dogs Positively Impact Physical Health
Last year an Australian team of medical researchers and psychologists reviewed 129 peer-reviewed studies on human-dog interactions. They found most documented positive physiological changes in people’s bodies and brains.
Spending just 5 to 20 minutes with a dog led to a sharp drop in cortisol, whether the dog was your own or someone else’s. Studies also reported increases in oxytocin, the hormone linked to well-being.
The Australian team also found a connection between human-dog interaction and heart rate variability (HRV). Changes in HRV are a useful indicator of overall health: higher HRV is associated with faster relaxation, while lower HRV is linked to depression and a higher risk of fatal heart disease.
Gee also notes that most positive changes show up not only in humans but in animals too. Oxytocin levels rise in dogs during interactions with people.
Dogs Enhance Cognitive Skills in Humans
Gee also took part in an international collaboration studying how regular play with dogs affects schoolchildren aged 8 to 9. The students spent short sessions with the animals about twice a week.
Children who played with dogs had less stress and marked improvements in reasoning and concentration, and the benefits persisted over time. Gee says the effects were still seen a month later, and some evidence suggests they can last up to six months.
Interacting with Dogs Reduces the Risk of Death from Heart Disease
A meta-analysis of 10 studies covering 3.8 million people found that dog ownership was associated with a 33% lower risk of death among heart attack survivors who lived alone.
Owning a dog reduced the risk of death for stroke survivors who lived alone by 27%. Overall, living with a dog was linked to a 24% lower likelihood of death and a 31% lower risk of death from a heart attack.
Dogs Live in the Moment
Professor Megan Mueller says one reason dogs reduce stress and improve concentration is that they live in the present.
Mueller explains that dogs experience their environment with constant curiosity; they don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future. Living in the moment can have real benefits for people as well.
