5 Ways Pets Can Enhance Emotional Wellbeing
Beyond being cute companions, pets can have a profound impact on us all. You might be familiar with the physical benefits that having a dog can bring, but did you know that all animals have the potential to enhance our emotional wellness, too? In this article, we reveal five ways that our furry or feathered friends can help with our mental wellbeing.
- Stress Reduction
Simply stroking a pet can be enough to help minimise stress levels. In fact, this is why many dogs, horses, rabbits, and even miniature pigs, for example, are used in animal therapy. Within this type of therapy, animals can support with lowering anxiety, providing comfort, assist in recalling memories, or even provide an escape or distraction. *
Even at home, most pet owners will be able to resonate with coming in after a long day and feeling almost immediately calmer after greeting them. One of the main reasons for this is that interacting with animals decreases stress-related hormones (cortisol levels). **
- A Good Excuse to Get Outside
Aside from walking the dog, other pets can also help you to spend more time outside, even if it’s just a few minutes in the garden every day for playtime, grooming, or feeding. Pets such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and chickens are all just some examples of other wonderful animals, that can make for amazing outdoor pets!
Being out in nature can do wonders for emotional wellbeing, elevating vitamin D levels and potentially improving sleep quality, both contributing towards the enhancement of your mental wellness.
- Offer a Sense of Purpose
A lack of purpose or responsibility can cause low self-esteem and be a catalyst for various other issues relating to mental wellbeing. Having a pet, no matter how big or small, can offer a huge sense of purpose (outside of work). Knowing that this animal depends on you and that you’re responsible for their needs, can be a driving force to get you up and active before work, or help you to step away from your desk for short breaks when you might otherwise struggle.
Because many animals thrive on routine, having a pet to bring consistency can also offer a sense of purpose. Perhaps your days are often chaotic, you feel they lack direction, or you struggle with sticking to a timetable, but knowing your pet needs feeding, grooming, or exercising at a certain time gives you a reason to create more structure.
- Promotes Social Interaction
If you have a dog, you’ve probably realised that small talk is pretty unavoidable on the daily walk. But these interactions can be great opportunities to get to know others! Even just stopping for a quick chat can reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, especially if you don’t live with anyone but your pet pooch.
Besides dogs, having another pet can also promote social interaction through forming communities. There are plenty of forums online for those who care for the same animals, asking for advice, raising concerns, or sharing something special their pet has done. Joining these clubs could help you to find like-minded others and even potentially develop new friendships – even amongst colleagues.
- Mood-Boosting
If you’re having a bad day, pets seem to have a magical way of making it that bit better! Particularly on more difficult days, or when you might feel you have no one to vent to, pets can offer you comfort, even if they can’t entirely understand the ins and outs of what you’re experiencing. The science behind this explains that holding or cuddling an animal can increase levels of serotonin and dopamine, which are the feel-good hormones in our brains.
Pet ownership offers a companionship like no other. With the unconditional love that animals bring, introducing a pet into your life can be beneficial to those of all ages. If you’re considering adding a new four-legged addition to your home, take a read of our ‘The Pet Effect: Exploring the Benefits of Pets for the Whole Family’ article to discover more.
*Animal-Assisted Therapy Research - People-Animal Connection | UCLA Health
** The Power of Pets | NIH News in Health
