The Health Benefits of Having a Pet

How Does Having A Pet Improve Our Life?

Pets can often provide us with an emotional connection that is otherwise difficult to find. They can also help us stay active, providing us with a daily purpose that encourages us to go for walks and spend time outdoors. Pets also offer us unconditional love and loyalty, improving our overall sense of self-worth.

In addition, they give us human companions with so much other than just good company. In fact, in the field of psychology it is now frequently recognized that having an animal companion leads to better mental health and overall well being. It has been documented that humans with companion animals (whether dogs, cats, birds, bunnies or any form of pet) experience greater overall happiness and also help avoid depression pit-falls such as social isolation.

How is this noted? Many studies on the benefits of pet ownership in both sick and aging populations have documented that having a pet increases the likelihood of social support and having better and more frequent social interactions which leads to improved mood and other important markers. These improvements in health market include but are not limited to: healthier endocrine function, improved immune response and greater cardiovascular health. 

Other Benefits of Pet Companionship which support a healthy lifestyle include but are not limited to:

• Reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety

• Increased frequency of physical exercises and vitamin D3 exposure

• The need for healthy routines and responsibilities

• Increased social interaction

• Improved mood and well-being

• Overall stress reduction

• Companionship and emotional support
  
  

The thought here is that pets now, more than ever, are being viewed similarly to human companions and so by having a close bond with your pet, you are emulating a similar bond with another human. It is known that the closer and stronger the bonds you have with your friends and family, the better chance you have of living a longer and healthier life.
 
Our pets give freely to us in all of the ways above – how can we also care for them and provide them with the best life benefit. This is best done by how we care for them, making sure they also get physical and mental stimulation, time in the sun to catch vitamin D, providing a healthy and species appropriate diet and also ensuring they are getting all that they can in the form of nutrients.


Of course we want our pets to live long healthy lives! This is why it’s important to ensure they are getting the most out of their food and supporting their immune system, digestive system and their overall well-being. One of the best ways to do that is to give a high quality probiotic & prebiotic with digestive enzymes at each meal. This will help them unlock all the nutrients they need out of their diet while ensuring their gut microbiome is always at its best. 
 
Sources: https://www.newyorkbehavioralhealth.com/psychological-benefits-of-pet-ownership/