By Schuyler Corrigan

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November 26, 2023

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The benefits of having and caring for a personal or family pet are numerous. If you have grown up with a pet or adopted one later in life, you may be familiar with the positive impacts they have in your home – from companionship and entertainment to even increasing your sense of purpose and responsibility. There is a growing area of research on the benefits of pet therapy for mental health, and when owning and caring for a pet is feasible for you, we will often recommend this form of mental health support for a variety of reasons! 

 

Read More: Daily Health Practices to Support Mental Health

 

People living with depression and loneliness, anxiety, dementia, ADHD, and PTSD are especially akin to the bond and positive support offered by animal therapy. This can be from any trained animal for therapy, and most commonly are dogs and horses. However, even the presence of lesser “trained” animals such as cats, birds, and rabbits can have a positive impact on our mental health. The bond humans share with animals is very special, and the feelings of comfort, love and companionship we develop with pets can boost our mental health and quality of daily life. In fact, caring for a pet such as a dog or cat has shown to increase the hormone oxytocin which can improve mood and is the hormone that assists with bonding between mother and child (1).

Canine Companions Can Get You Moving!

If you’re fortunate enough to have a canine companion, they need exercise and movement every day (just like us), and you can do this together. Not only has exercise been shown to decrease levels of anxiety and depression, it has been linked to increased self-esteem and cognitive function. This is likely due to the impact of exercise on our limbic system and overall stress response system which, through a lifetime of day-to-day stressors, can become overwhelming and difficult to manage. Daily exercise also has the benefit of improving the quality of sleep – a foundational pillar for overall health and wellbeing. You may quickly notice an improvement in your sleep patterns when you begin the daily habit of intentional movement and exercise! Plus, it is such a joyful activity to take your pup for a stroll and spend time exploring the world together, even if it’s just your local neighborhood. 

Children and Animals

Children of all ages require different approaches when dealing with stress, learning abilities, or disabilities, communication barriers or recovering from traumas. In some cases where children have a hard time communicating with adults, they may have more benefit from social therapy when interacting with animals in conjunction with therapy. With symptoms of hyperactivity or lack of focus, when children are introduced to animal therapy, it can improve their engagement and patience with a task. Overall, pet therapy has been shown to lower stress cortisol levels in school children, leading researchers to continue implementing pet therapy for stress and anxiety in children’s health. 

 

Read More: Mental Health Support in Winter

Additional Benefits of Pet Therapy

The American Journal of Critical Care published a study where researchers found that visits with therapy dogs improved cardiovascular health and lowered blood pressure in heart patients. Animal assisted therapy has also been shown as a positive example of a, “nonpharmacological intervention that can help ICU patients become active and engaged in their recovery as early as possible.”. Finally, as we age it is important to maintain a sense of purpose for e]overall cognitive health and longevity, and pet therapy has been shown to provide this in elderly populations. 

 

Resources: 

1. The Role of Oxytocin in the Dog–Owner Relationship