(empowher.com) — According to the National Pet Owners Survey, 62 percent of U.S. households own a pet and Christmas time is a popular time to purchase a new family member.
If you are considering buying a pet this Christmas, here are some surprising health benefits of owning a pet:
• Pets help to lower blood pressure. A recent study at the State University of New York at Buffalo found that people with hypertension who adopted a cat or dog had lower blood pressure readings in stressful situations than did those who did not own a pet.
• Pets help to reduce stress. Walking with a pet helps to soothe nerves and offers instant relaxation. Studies conducted worldwide have shown that the impact of a stressful situation is lesser on pet owners, especially males, than on those who do not own a pet. Also, petting pets has been shown to reduce blood pressure and heart rates in adults. Even being in the same room with pets, including fish in tanks, can lower blood pressure and reduce stress in adults and children.
• Pets help to prevent heart disease because pets provide people with faithful companionship. Research shows pets provide their owners with greater psychological stability, and thus a measure of protection from heart disease.
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I don’t know whether it is our cat or my healthy life style that keeps my blood pressure under control, but being woken seven days a week by a whining cat that scratches and throws herself against our bed room door at 5 o’clock every single morning because she thinks she is hungry or needs company is not what I would call ‘stress free’ or good company.
Pets can be good for some but not all. My son had a cat that only wanted attention from him. The only time is wanted my attention was when he needed to be fed. I got sick of cat hair all over the place and and the constant need to keep the litter box clean. Now that the cat is no longer with us (we gave her to an older couple) I don’t miss her or all the work.