Ever noticed how dog lovers seem more relax, chill, and altogether happier? Well, science has the definite answer with solid evidence.
Dog lovers didn’t need science to verify it as they know so without the need for data. But science wants to make everything official. And it’s scientifically confirmed — the level of stress hormones in a person’s body can dramatically decrease after spending at least ten minutes with a dog.
Taking action on the prevalent levels of fatigue in undergraduate students in the United States, colleges all over the country have been implementing projects for animal visitation programs.
Hence, petting zoos have been around campuses despite of lack of evidence. Here, students are allowed to interacts with dogs during their free time to help in the release of tension and lessening of fatigue and stress.
To measure its effectivity, scientists from Washington State University spearheaded a study. Through the measurement of cortisol levels in saliva that equates to the presence of stress in an individual, scientists evaluated college students who are in extreme fatigue and pressure.
Students were divided into four groups: the first of the four groups of students were made to play and interact with dogs while the other three groups weren’t made to do so; the second group was made to watch other students play with dogs while waiting in line; the third group was shown a slideshow of dogs, while the last group was simply made to wait without any physical or visual interaction with dogs.
At the end of the study, the first group turned out to be the group of students that had a dramatic decrease in cortisol levels.
The study is promising as it effectively clued in colleges on the proper nature of animal visitation programs to give to different students.
What is most amazing, though not shocking, is the fact, that indeed, dogs are effective stress busters and companions, altogether, in life. Humans are indeed lucky to have dogs