Scientists have proven that stroking a cat for ten minutes can significantly reduce stress. In the famous James Bond adventure film, there is a villain named Blofeld. World domination, to which this dark character aspires, causes him great stress and anxiety. Therefore, Blofeld loves to spend a lot of time stroking his beloved cat. Favorite animal has a calming effect and relieves anxiety. People have long noticed that communication with animals improves mood, and scientists decided to carefully consider the causes of this phenomenon.
Scientists experiment
Scientists tested nearly 250 students to find out how animals are able to influence people's stress levels. They found that petting cats or dogs leads to a significant reduction in the level of the stress hormone cortisol. To compare the effects of various animal effects on humans, the University of Washington team divided students into four groups. The first group of subjects interacted directly with cats and dogs. The second part of the students watched others stroking the animals. The third group of people watched a slide show of cats and dogs. And the last part of the subjects had to wait a while for their turn to see the animals. Samples of salivary cortisol were taken from each participant immediately after the experiment.
Successful result
Later, those students who directly interacted with animals showed the greatest decrease in the stress hormone cortisol compared to other study participants.
University professor Patricia Pendry summarized the results of her research: “Just ten minutes of talking with animals can have a significant positive effect on people's well-being and health.”
She added: “Students have couples and exams, and they usually have overtime, pay bills, and so many other problems. We wanted to know if interacting with animals would help reduce their stress. And so it happened. "This is interesting because lowering the level of stress hormones can bring significant benefits to people over time."