Did you know that hugging your dog might help keep your brain healthy?
Researchers have long said that having a pet helps decrease depression, pain and can help provide a sense of purpose to those who are feeling dejected.
Now, a new study suggests that having a pet is even healthier for senior citizens that we previously thought. Researchers at the University of Michigan linked long-term pet ownership to a delayed aging of the brain in people over the age of 65. They plan to release the study at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Seattle later this month.
Dr. Tiffany Braley, MD, who oversaw the study said, “Prior studies have suggested that the human-animal bond may have health benefits like decreasing blood pressure and stress. Our results suggest pet ownership may also be protective against cognitive decline.”
The researchers used data from the Health and Retirement Study and examined 1369 Medicare beneficiaries by studying cognitive data obtained from older adults with an average age of 65 years who had normal cognitive abilities at the start of the study. Over 700 people in the study owned pets and more than 400 were long-term pet owners who had owned their pets for five or more years.
Cognitive function was measured through different tests including number counting, subtraction problems and word recall. Cognitive scores ranged from 0 to 27. During the six years of the study, cognitive scores decreased at a slower rate in pet owners. This was especially evident in those who fell in the long-term pet owner category. They showed a score of 1.2 points higher than that of non-pet owners on average.