Tip of the Tail: Having friends with paws can help you rest and de-stress.
STRESSED TO KILL
Are you stressed beyond belief? You know that stress can kill you. But, if you’re a cat-lover, you already know the best antidote for stress: Cats! And, it’s official now. It’s not just conjecture. Read on.
The National Institute of Health and Science has recognized the overall value of pets! The Institute hopes to harness the power of the human-animal bond to improve lives.
If you’re like most pet owners, you already know that your companion animal enriches your life. Whatever species your pet happens to be, it improves your emotional well-being.
The animal doesn’t even have to belong to you for you to reap benefits. It turns out that you don’t even need to have the actual animal in your presence. One study showed that just watching dogs in movies reduces people’s stress level considerably. I’m sure that the same holds true for cats. I know that simply looking at cat pictures makes me happy. Actually, I don’t even have to look at photos of cats. All I have to do is to picture my cats in my mind and that helps me to relax at stressful moments—like when the dentist is about to give me an injection. (Ouch!)
A researcher analyzed people’s saliva after they watched dogs in movies and discovered that the levels of cortisol, the hormone associated with stress, lowered dramatically.
The researcher who conducted this study was Cheryl Krause-Parello, assistant professor and director of the Center of Nursing Research at Kean University in Union, New Jersey.
I hope she follows up this study with more tests involving cats. I’ve noticed that even though there are now more people who own cats than dogs in the U.S., the majority of studies are about the effect of dogs on human health. Cats are being given short shrift, I think.
At any rate, the good news about cats lowering your stress level is that you really don’t have to do anything. You don’t need special equipment or learn any special techniques. All you have to do is to look at your cat or stroke her to feel instant relief and relaxation.
For me, what works really well is to grab my cat Lydia, lie down and place her on my chest — then let her purr away.
How about you? Do you have a favorite way to de-stress with your cat?