Dogs Can Reduce Depression, Stress
Pet therapy could be prescribed to boost mental health.
(Getty Images)
Playing with a dog changes our brain waves, boosting relaxation and concentration, whilst reducing stress and depression.
Scientists believe the results show that “pet therapy” could be prescribed to bolster mental health.
Researchers measured the effects on the brain waves of participants as they interacted with dogs and found countless benefits to the activities.
The South Korean study concluded that the results provided strong evidence of the potential benefits of “animal-assisted interventions” (AAI) for humans.
The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, sought to explore the effects on the brain of playing and performing activities with dogs.
The researchers noted how AAI was already in use in some hospitals, schools and other environments to help reduce anxiety, relieve stress and foster feelings of trust.
However, studies measuring the potential benefits of these animal interactions often take the more holistic approach of comparing people’s moods or hormone levels before and after spending time with the animals.
This type of research therefore fails to differentiate between types of interactions like grooming, feeding or playing with an animal – therefore limiting our understanding of how each specific activity impacts our health and well-being.
To better understand how AAI might affect our brains and moods, Onyoo Yoo and colleagues from Konkuk University in South Korea recruited 30 adult participants to perform eight different activities for three minutes each with a well-trained, four-year-old female poodle.
The activities included: playing with a hand-held toy, giving the dog treats, massaging, hugging, walking and taking pictures with the dog.
Participants simultaneously wore electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes to record electrical activity from the brain whilst they interacted with the poodle, and recorded their subjective emotional state immediately after each activity.
The relative strength of alpha-band oscillations in the brain increased whilst participants played with and walked the dog, reflecting a state of ‘relaxed wakefulness’.
Whilst grooming, massaging or playing with the dog, relative beta-band oscillation strength was found to increase – a boost typically linked to heightened concentration levels.
Participants also reported feeling significantly less fatigued, depressed, and stressed after all dog-related activities.
Originally published by Talker News