Who’s your “buddy?”
Have you met Moses? A big smile and “ah yes!” would be a common response from people who have stopped by our Seniors Helping Seniors office in southern New Hampshire. Ask our caregivers, and they would agree that he is definitely a part of our team!
I’m not alone when it comes to connecting with a pet. There are hundreds of thousands of other seniors across the country who feel the same way about their very own. The scientific community has also started weighing in on the subject.
Animals Provide Family and Friendship
“Pets are an important form of social contact,” says Dr. Alan Beck, director of the Center for Human-Animal Bond at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Purdue University. “For older people who may be less mobile and who have few or limited companions, animals provide family and friendship, something to care for and to be recognized by.”
Studies Show Pets Boost Physical Health
A growing number of researchers believe that pets also help boost physical health. Over the last two decades, studies have linked pet ownership with increased chances of survival after a heart attack and reducing blood pressure. Others have shown that pets can sometimes help people with Alzheimer’s.
According to Dr. Lynette Hart, associate professor at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, “Studies have shown that Alzheimer’s patients have fewer anxious outbursts if there is an animal in the home. Alzheimer’s patients who were attached to their pets also had fewer reported mood disorders, Hart adds.
Another group of researchers, at Purdue, studied the effects of tropical fish on Alzheimer’s patients. “Patients who were exposed to the fish tanks appeared to be more relaxed and ate up to 21 percent more food than they had before the introduction of the fish tanks. The tanks of colorful, gliding fish often held patients’ attention for up to 30 minutes, a relatively long time for many Alzheimer’s patients,” the study concluded.
Pets Help With Stress
According to Dr. Judith M. Siegel, professor of Public Health at UCLA, seniors who own pets typically cope better with stressful life events… Several years ago, Siegel and her colleagues studied nearly 1,000 non-institutionalized older adult Medicare patients. She found that those who owned pets appeared to experience less distress and required fewer visits to their physicians than non-owners.
The bottom line is that pets are like “emotional vitamins.” If you feel better psychologically and emotionally, every system in your body is going to function more efficiently. The 65-plus population, particularly vulnerable to loneliness and stress-related diseases, can reap enormous benefits from pet companionship.
Excerpt from:
“How Pets Help Senior Citizens” by Rebecca Sweat