During your childhood, have you ever had a pet? It’s best if you keep doing that until you’re old. The reason is, having pets has a variety of benefits. It can increase physical strength to maintain one’s social relationships.
Having a pet can help overcome mental and physical health problems for the elderly. Because keeping animals can reduce the risk of stress, similar to the health benefits of swimming for seniors.
Based on a study by Michigan University in the United States, pet owners have a lower risk of stress attacks than those who don’t have pets. The total could reach more than three-quarters of the study participants.
Meanwhile, dog owners say pets help them stay physically active. The pets also help them connect with other people. Pets are often a great source of pleasure.
In addition, pets help to cope with a person’s physical or emotional symptoms. This results in a decrease in the number of sick people. So, besides consuming healthy stuff like the health benefits of beets, it’s always best to keep a pet at your company.
On the general case, relationship with pets are much simpler than with people. They also give older people a sense of being needed and loved. What are the other benefits of having pets for seniors? Here’s the full info just for you.
Health Benefits of Pets for Seniors
- Boost immunity
The immune system of people who have pets is better than those who don’t. Research has shown that seniors aged over 65 with pets have a 30 percent lower rate of visits to the doctor than those who don’t.
A better immunity is also formed in children who grow up in a home environment with pets. Contrary to popular belief, recent research has revealed that toddlers raised in homes with pets tend to be better protected from allergies, asthma, and eczema, which are skin allergies that cause itching and redness.
So, besides consuming nutrition-rich foods like the health benefits of cashew milk, having a pet is also a great fun way to have a healthier life.
- Act as Friends to Stay Active
Keeping or playing with pets also encourages you to be active. This activity is a suitable alternative if you are reluctant to exercise seriously.
Playing with the pets all day can be both fun and healthy activities. People with heart disease can also move actively and improve heart function when playing with pets.
- Reduce Stress and Boredom
Having a reasonably solid activity can increase the risk of stress and burnout. Ways to reduce stress are abundant, one example is having a pet. Seeing the funny behavior of these animals makes us happy, and for a moment, we can forget our problems. Having a pet can also make the mood better than before and motivate us to overcome the difficulties we are facing.
Playing with pets can also be a fun activity that increases dopamine and serotonin levels, calming and uplifting the mind. Just looking at your pet fish in the aquarium can relieve tension and stress.
In addition to the health benefits of aerobics, having pets can prevent you from being depressed and lonely, which a common issue in seniors. With pets, children who have learning difficulties can manage stress and learn to calm down.
Other studies have shown that having pets at home makes older adults with Alzheimer’s tend to feel more relaxed.
- Social Interactions
Based on research, children with autism can also interact better if there are pets around them. Keeping animals can also give you a better chance of making new social relationships, especially with other people who like the same animals.
This activity or interaction can be done in various ways like bedridden, via the internet, or exercising with a pet. Solid friendships and social support will make you healthier as an individual.
- Train Responsibility
Having a pet is not only to be seen and enjoyed, but we also should take care of the animal. Pets are also living creatures that need to eat and drink too. By owning a pet, we can learn how to be responsible for our pets.
- Make You More Diligent
By having a sense of responsibility for pets, we must be diligent in caring for these animals. Starting from feeding, bathing pets, taking walks, and so on. That way, we will get used to doing activities and not just being lazy. This can become a good habit if it is done continuously.
- Give a Positive Influence On Health
The health benefits of caring for pets are widely researched and recognized. It not only gives benefits in terms of psychological but also gives positive things in terms of health.
Many research results say that keeping a pet makes blood pressure and pulse normal. Routinely taking pets for walks can burn our calories to be used for weight loss therapy.
- Strengthen Relationship With Family
One way to strengthen our relationship with our family besides family-bonding activities like health benefits of golf is to have a pet. Please make sure all your family members like the pet first.
Doing activities together such as feeding, bathing pets, and taking them for walks with family can make your relationship closer.
Although it has many positive effects, owning a pet requires special care to avoid disease. Perform routine and regular grooming and often seek essential information about how to care for your pet.
And don’t forget to take your animals to the vet when they are sick.
Critics
Although raising animals has many benefits, it has also come under criticism—one of them by Cathleen Connel, a professor at the campus with a different view.
He says social relationships and activities with friends and family are vital to improving the quality of life. So it should be, without pets, the elderly should still maintain relationships and other crucial priorities in maintaining their mental and physical health.
It would be better if the elderly also found other ways without relying solely on animal ownership.