The advantages of living together with your pet are no longer a big secret. People who have a dog, and maybe not even one, live more actively, as they are forced every day to walk your four-legged friend, they always have someone to talk to or shoulder to cry on, because a faithful dog is the perfect companion (listening, not interrupting, understand when you need to comfort). However, moral support is not anything I can do to help the person dog. Scientists say they can literally prolong his master’s life.
The results
Swedish researchers from Uppsala University found that dog as a pet for a lonely person can reduce the risk of death by 33% and risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 36% compared to those who prefer complete privacy. The chances of a heart attack at the lonely dog owners were also 11% lower.
In families dog also has a positive effect on life expectancy. The risk of death in households consisting of several persons has decreased on 11%, and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease fell by 15%. But the possibility of a heart attack in this case was not varied.
Curious is the fact that the owners of hunting breeds, including Terriers, retrievers and bloodhounds, turned out to be the most protected from cardiovascular disease and premature death. But the study authors emphasize that life with a dog of any breed reduces the potential death of the owners, but to different degrees.
Cause and effect
Scientists believe that one of the reasons for such influence dogs to their owners is the fact that they help strengthen the immune system. Dogs always bring dirt into the house, they love to lick their favorite people that, one way or another, can affect the quantity and quality of bacteria living in the human body, urging the protective mechanismsthat enhance health. In addition, communication with furry friends reduces stresswhich is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases.
Although researchers are not in a hurry to classify man’s best friends to medical facilities, they are advised to get a pet as a companion will bring more benefits than problems. To such conclusions scientists came after the work on the data of nearly 3.5 million people in Sweden aged 40 to 80 years, selected from a national database and international Swedish online Swedish Twin Register. Processing of all material took nothing less than 12 years.
