WebLady
06-20-2006, 10:10 PM
I found this interesting article and thought I'd share ...
Did you know your dog could help you live longer?
Tests have shown that owning a pet can help people attain a better level of physical and mental health. For example, petting your dog can lower your heart rate and your blood pressure, and even promote healing. Following are a few of the gifts sharing your life with a dog gets you — not just on Valentine's Day but all year round.
Lower stress levels and a healthy heart
Petting and spending time with your dog can sooth you and help you relax, causing your heartbeat to slow and your blood pressure to drop. Research has shown that this reduction is particularly noticeable in people who suffer from high-blood pressure.
Your dog can reduce stress in all areas of your life. Amazingly, studies of women undergoing stress tests have demonstrated that the presence of a dog had more effect on lowering blood pressure than the presence of friends. Also, recent studies show that having pets at work lowers stress levels and makes employees more productive.
Research has also shown that dog owners who have suffered a heart attack had a better survival rate one year after the heart attack than people without pets. Whether the health benefits of sharing your life with a dog are the result of your bond with your dog or the extra exercise you get through walks and visits to the park isn't clear, but does it really matter? It just goes to prove what dog owners know intuitively — their lives are richer because they share their home with their dog.
General well being
Your dog can open doors in your life. Walking in the park or visiting the vet give you the opportunity to meet and talk to other people. Studies have shown that people walking a dog have far more positive encounters than those walking alone do. Your dog can be an icebreaker and a topic of conversation.
Owning a dog also means having to make an effort to get out to buy food and to exercise the dog. The routine, sense of purpose and feeling of fulfillment in caring for a dog gives meaning to the lives of many isolated people, and helps fight off depression and loneliness.
Other health benefits
Alzheimer's Disease: The presence of a dog can ease the effects of Alzheimer's disease. Studies have shown that Alzheimer's patients have fewer anxious outbursts and fewer mood disorders if there is a dog in their home.
Lower cholesterol: People with dogs have been found to have lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels when compared to people who did not have dogs, even when matched for weight, diet and smoking habits.
Predict seizures: Some people who have periodic seizures have reported that their dogs can sense the onset of a seizure before they can. Dogs can be specially trained to recognize some type of change prior to a seizure, and signal the owner of the imminent seizure. This gives the owner sufficient time to prepare. For example, it may give them time to move away from a hot stove before the seizure. These dogs are called "seizure-alert" or "seizure-response" dogs, and they can be trained to signal their owners from 15 to 45 minutes before a seizure.
Control "freezing" in Parkinson's Disease: In addition to the tremors and stiffness that Parkinson's patients experience, they also face a problem called "freezing." Their feet freeze in place while the rest of their body keeps moving, causing them to fall. As a result, some people with Parkinson's may tend to become reluctant to move around or mingle with others. A Parkinson's helper dog can improve the quality of their lives because they are trained to identify when a person with Parkinson's is "freezing." If the dog touches the person's foot, it breaks the freeze and the person can continue walking. In addition to breaking the "freeze," the dogs are taught to prevent their owners from falling by counterbalancing and helping them regain their footing. The dogs are also trained to help people up in case they do fall.
Did you know your dog could help you live longer?
Tests have shown that owning a pet can help people attain a better level of physical and mental health. For example, petting your dog can lower your heart rate and your blood pressure, and even promote healing. Following are a few of the gifts sharing your life with a dog gets you — not just on Valentine's Day but all year round.
Lower stress levels and a healthy heart
Petting and spending time with your dog can sooth you and help you relax, causing your heartbeat to slow and your blood pressure to drop. Research has shown that this reduction is particularly noticeable in people who suffer from high-blood pressure.
Your dog can reduce stress in all areas of your life. Amazingly, studies of women undergoing stress tests have demonstrated that the presence of a dog had more effect on lowering blood pressure than the presence of friends. Also, recent studies show that having pets at work lowers stress levels and makes employees more productive.
Research has also shown that dog owners who have suffered a heart attack had a better survival rate one year after the heart attack than people without pets. Whether the health benefits of sharing your life with a dog are the result of your bond with your dog or the extra exercise you get through walks and visits to the park isn't clear, but does it really matter? It just goes to prove what dog owners know intuitively — their lives are richer because they share their home with their dog.
General well being
Your dog can open doors in your life. Walking in the park or visiting the vet give you the opportunity to meet and talk to other people. Studies have shown that people walking a dog have far more positive encounters than those walking alone do. Your dog can be an icebreaker and a topic of conversation.
Owning a dog also means having to make an effort to get out to buy food and to exercise the dog. The routine, sense of purpose and feeling of fulfillment in caring for a dog gives meaning to the lives of many isolated people, and helps fight off depression and loneliness.
Other health benefits
Alzheimer's Disease: The presence of a dog can ease the effects of Alzheimer's disease. Studies have shown that Alzheimer's patients have fewer anxious outbursts and fewer mood disorders if there is a dog in their home.
Lower cholesterol: People with dogs have been found to have lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels when compared to people who did not have dogs, even when matched for weight, diet and smoking habits.
Predict seizures: Some people who have periodic seizures have reported that their dogs can sense the onset of a seizure before they can. Dogs can be specially trained to recognize some type of change prior to a seizure, and signal the owner of the imminent seizure. This gives the owner sufficient time to prepare. For example, it may give them time to move away from a hot stove before the seizure. These dogs are called "seizure-alert" or "seizure-response" dogs, and they can be trained to signal their owners from 15 to 45 minutes before a seizure.
Control "freezing" in Parkinson's Disease: In addition to the tremors and stiffness that Parkinson's patients experience, they also face a problem called "freezing." Their feet freeze in place while the rest of their body keeps moving, causing them to fall. As a result, some people with Parkinson's may tend to become reluctant to move around or mingle with others. A Parkinson's helper dog can improve the quality of their lives because they are trained to identify when a person with Parkinson's is "freezing." If the dog touches the person's foot, it breaks the freeze and the person can continue walking. In addition to breaking the "freeze," the dogs are taught to prevent their owners from falling by counterbalancing and helping them regain their footing. The dogs are also trained to help people up in case they do fall.