Studies have shown that dog ownership can help with mental health challenges later in life.
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Nobody needed to tell Kathy Sullivan that having a dog would help her live longer.
The Trinity Health of New England nurse already has four of them.
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Having a dog may help you live longer, research has shown.
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Research shows that owning a dog may provide cardiovascular benefits.
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“They make everything great and happy,” said Sullivan. “They bring so much to our lives. You don’t want to look through the door and not have that wagging tail and kisses and the unconditional love. There’s no other unconditional love than the love that you get from a dog.”
That might explain why having a dog is associated with living a longer healthier life, according to the American Heart Association. During the COVID-19 shutdown, Sullivan realized that her dog, Ollie, then 7, brought her so much joy, she figured her isolated patients might brighten up with a few of his wags and kisses, too. She began bringing him to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Mass. and soon had him certified as a therapy dog by the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.
“They can just be a presence,” said Sullivan, whose puppy, Gus, is now in training to be a therapy dog. “If you come home from work and you’ve had a bad day or you’re just not feeling well, they can look at you, they can put their head in your lap, they can just be next to you and it literally takes that tension away. They make you feel better without them even knowing that they’ve done it.”
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Augustus, or “Gus,” is a therapy dog in training at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Mass., part of the Trinity Health of New England network
Courtesy of Trinity Health of New England
Demanding and devoted, sometimes devilish and destructive, dogs have had the longest relationship with humans of any other animal, according to National Geographic. That may help explain why one of the largest reviews of studies on the matter found that owning a dog was associated with a 24% lower risk of dying from all causes over the course of 10 years. The study, published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, found the effect was particularly strong in cardiovascular health, where dog owners had a 31% lower risk death from cardiovascular disease. A similar Swedish study of more than 3.4 million adults found that dog owners had lower overall mortality and lower risk of cardiovascular death than non-owners, especially people living alone.
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“Several studies suggest that companionship, emotional support and reduced loneliness contribute significantly to the health benefits seen with dog ownership,” said Dr. Michael Roman, a family medicine resident doctor at New Milford Hospital. “This effect appears particularly strong in people living alone, where dogs may help reduce social isolation and improve emotional well-being.”
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Why dogs seem to help people live longer is a thornier question. Some researchers speculate that dog owners get more exercise through dog walks. A study in the Journal Physical Activity and health found that about 60% of dog owners walked their dog for about 160 minutes a week. That meets the federal guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week, the CDC reports.
Dr. Michael Roman is a Family Medicine Resident at New Milford Hospital.
Courtesy of New Milford Hospital
That’s one of the reasons Dr. George Kuchel, director of the UConn Center on Aging at UConn Health, recommends that his patients get a dog. “People who go for walks, climb stairs, do better than people who don’t,” he said. “Equally important, dogs are wonderful mechanism for connecting with other people,” he said. “Having a dog will encourage you, even force you to connect with people.”
But anywhere from 23% to 41% of dog owners don’t walk their dog at all, according to studies in The American Journal of Public Health and Psychology Today, respectively.
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So, is there more to dog ownership’s relationship to a longer life than a dog walk? The American Heart Association reports that “dogs can boost your production of ‘happy hormones’” like oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine, which help lower the stress hormone, cortisol. In fact, a 2019 study in the journal Animals (Basel) found that interactions like petting, eye contact and play increased oxytocin levels in dogs and their owners. Researchers believe this “oxytocin loop” promotes trust and attachment, reduces stress and strengthens social bonding. A 2015 study published in Science found that gazing into the eyes of dogs increased the oxytocin concentrations in dogs and humans, but not wolves, from which dogs evolved.
Kathy Sullivan, RN, Nurse Manager at Mercy Health in Springfield, Mass., works with her therapy-dog-in training, Augustus. Mercy is part of Trinity Health of New England.
Courtesy of Trinity Health of New England
Additionally, owning a dog confers a sense of responsibility, routine and purpose, said Lindsey Braun, vice president of research and operations at the nonprofit Human Animal Bond Research Institute in Washington, D.C. “Every day, your dog needs to be fed, your dog needs to be walked, your dog needs to go to the veterinarian, you’re doing things with them as they’re by your side,” she said. “That’s important for physical health and mental health.”
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Sullivan agreed. “I love to walk and they are the motivation for me,” she said. “I don’t want to wait on another human to walk with me because they won’t always show up but my dog always will. If you come home to your dog every day, it’s also something for you to live for. I truly believe that they’re just innately good.”