Dogs: The Best Medicine for a Healthy Heart
There’re so many reasons we share our lives with our dogs, they’re our best friends, they protect us, they take care of us, they’re always by our side… The list goes on. Now, based on a recent scientific study, we can add another: dogs offer the best kind of medecine for a healthy heart. Owning a dog improves our lives on an emotional level. Sure, this might not be a huge discovery for those of us who’ve spent countless days with our furry friends, but we might not be completely aware of the physical benefits they bring to our lives.
This study, which took place in Houston, Texas, confirmed the positive influence that dogs have on our cardiovascular health. To reach this conclusion, they studied more than 5,000 different cases.
How does their company make for healthier hearts?
When we take care of our dogs, we also inevitably change some of our daily routines, in adapting to their specific needs. The simple fact of owning a dog means that we’ve taken on additional daily responsibilities that, in many cases, change us in positive ways. One of these responsibilities is walking our dogs.
Experts claim that dog owners who regularly take their pets on walks are in much better physical shape than those who don’t, and even in better shape than non-dog owners who walk as a form of exercise themselves. What does this mean? That there’s one less excuse to get off the couch, grab a leash, and take Fido (or Rover) for a walk…
Going out with our dog and doing some type of physical activity helps to relieve a day’s worth of tension and stress. It helps to prevent depressive spells, to strengthen the bond between us and our dogs, and to fight off the couch potato that lives in all of us. This time together is just as healthy for dogs as it is for their humans.
Besides that, some research asserts that pet owners tend to have healthier levels of cholestrol and are more likely to survive heart attacks. Surprising, huh?
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