Do Pets Help You Live Longer?

People have pets because they love animals. Sometimes, people keep pets to stay away from loneliness or even to play with their kids. But did you ever think that your pets could help you live longer?

It is a fact proven by scientific research that pets make you live longer by keeping you healthy. Pets keep you healthy both in body and mind, thus increasing your life expectancy.

Do Pets Help You Live Longer?

When you think about why to pets at home, you consider many options. For example, you will have to see if there is enough space in your house. You will also have analyze whether you can afford a pet. Besides, having a pet is a lot of hard work as you have to care for the pet like a parent.

QUIET PETS FOR WORKING PEOPLE

But if pets help you to live longer and healthier, are they not worth having? Here are some strange ways in which you pets can make you live longer.

Stress busters
When you come back stressed from work and see your pet pouncing towards you, all your stress will wash away. Being with pet, especially dogs and cats helps you to be less tensed. This has calming effect on your nerves. As a result you risk of high blood pressure and heart attacks is drastically reduced.

Exercise buddies
If you are the kind of person who never manages to make it to the gym, get a pet dog. You will have to take the dog for a walk every morning. Even playing with the dog will give you some exercise. Pets make the best exercise buddies. They are always willing and never influence you to skip your walk.

Making your kids stronger
It has been observed that kids who grow up with pets in their house have stringer immunity against allergies. It is in fact a paradox because cat and dog hair is a trigger for asthma. But your pets presence stimulates your child's immune system to resist allergies.

For the elderly
When senior citizens or elderly people interact with pets, their neural activity is stimulated. This is a very good protection against Alzheimer's disease and other diseases of the nervous system.

Cures Depression
Your mental health has a direct influence on your physical health. Depression due to loneliness is becoming a chronic problem among young adults these days. Having a pet at home helps you curb depression. So you don't have to be any particular age group to have pets.

Even if you are not a born pet lover, these points will compel you to think, why you should have pets.

Story first published: Thursday, February 27, 2014, 18:23 [IST]
Read more about: pets pet care