Cats are known for being aloof, a bit solitary, and too demanding; it's a stereotype that has a bit of truth. It's just the way they are. Cats are biologically wired to be solo hunters in the jungle. However, even if cats don't "need" individuals as outwardly and also unashamedly as dogs, it doesn't suggest that they're not caring, loving, as well as faithful in their own perfectly feline way. True cat lovers can tell you as much!
While cats may not "need" their human buddies as intensely as other pets might, there are many ways we need them--one of these is for being healthier versions of ourselves. That's right--having a pet cat has a lot of health benefits. Let's have a look at how pet cats can improve our health and quality of life.
1. Decrease stress and anxiety
Have you ever asked yourself why numerous programs bring pets right into hospitals or onto college universities throughout tough times? If you're a feline proprietor, you possibly currently know the response. Ends up, petting a feline (or a pet) can help reduce tension and anxiety.
How? Researchers think that the destressing result of cuddling a pet cat can is because of the reduction of cortisol levels. The body releases a hormone that is called cortisol during high-stress situations. It helps in regulating many crucial functions in the body.
However, cortisol can interrupt necessary body features, like immune suppression and blood glucose regulation at higher levels. So call your feline up on your lap and start offering them a lot of petting--it benefits you!
2. Helps lower high blood pressure, the threat of cardiovascular disease, as well as stroke
Did you know that owning a feline is good for your heart health? Sure, our furry friend helps us understand just how to love unconditionally, but I'm saying good for your physical heart and blood circulation system!
After research, feline possession has revealed a linear relationship with a reduced risk of heart attack and stroke by approximately a third, along with myocardial infarction and general risk for heart diseases and risk of death. What's better is, you don't have to own a cat to benefit currently! One research revealed that former pet owners were 40% less likely to deal with cardiac arrest, which went beyond heart drugs' performance. Why? Scientists aren't sure. However, some assume maybe the overall destressing effect of having feline friends.
3. Help get better rest
Many of us understand one undeniable reality: a pet cat that sleeps in your bed will certainly use up nine times as much space as you thought its small body is capable of. However, guess what? Your furry friend sharing your bed may help their owner get a better, much less interfered evening sleep than someone who sleeps alone.
That's because numerous pet owners feel a sense of ease when their pet is around, which can help their bodies to settle into deeper, a lot more relaxing sleep.
4. Their purr may aid in the recovery of bones and cells
I have talked about the advantages of a pet cat's purr on this blog before. Among the main reasons scientists think that cats purr is that its resonance is at a level that can help recover bones and also soft cells in their body. But purring might not just be corrective for the feline, yet likewise for the people around them as well.
A cat's purr resonates between the 18-35 Hz range, a level that researchers have found can aid humans to recover after injury and trauma. When your cat climbs atop your lap and purrs its merry little heart out, it might just be helping your body recover in ways you don't even know.
5. Reduced allergic reactions
New cat parents were alerted to maintain possible irritants far from children and kids to be risk-free. However, moms and dads find out that having a feline or dog around your house may be the trick to keeping allergic reactions at bay.
Researches sponsored by the National Institute of Allergic Reaction have discovered that children who live in houses with two or even more felines or pet dogs throughout very early childhood years are statistically a lot less likely to develop allergies than people without pets.
It's not just allergic reactions that early pet exposure helps secure against either, but other usual irritants such as ragweed, allergen, and also grasses. Though they're not yet sure why there's a relationship between allergic reaction reduction and pet cat ownership, numerous physicians are now much less cautious of early pet exposure.
6. Keep kids breathe much easier
Having a feline as a housemate doesn't just assist in safeguarding kids from allergies. It can also help alleviate the danger for early lung conditions such as asthma, pneumonia, and respiratory disease in kids genetically predisposed to be at risk for breathing problems.
Again, scientists aren't sure why there's a correlation between living with a feline and disease reduction. Some guess that cat dander might help the body's immune system learn how to manage ecological irritants early in childhood.
7. Physical health benefits and increased exercise
While having a pet cat does not generally call for as much physical exertion as having a dog cat (thank goodness!), no part of being a pet cat person suggests you aren't getting exercise. I suggest, think just how much time you already spend doing squats to get every one of the stuff your feline oh-so-lovingly dumps onto nooks and crannies of your home. It's its very own type of CAT-listhenics (sorry, I can't help it!).
Enormously, however, with a little initiative, being cat lovers and cat owners can assist you in entering some additional daily exercise if you get creative. The trick to getting extra practice is to have fun with your pet cat. Pull out your pet cat's preferred toy and play with him for a while. Not just may your heart benefit from a moderate workout, yet your feline will stay in much better shape, as well.
8. Good for mental health, decrease the feeling of isolation and depression
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, caring for a feline can be an excellent antidote to ease loneliness and help with clinical depression. The key to this mood-lifting superpower? Hormones.
In a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, scientists found that their oxytocin degrees skyrocketed when subjects hung out with animals. Oxytocin is a hormonal agent that helps human beings feel extra at ease with a more powerful complacency and happiness—additionally, having positive interactions with cats also harness positive feelings about people. Cats are also found out to increase social contact between people! Having fun with or petting a cat can also help boost dopamine and serotonin levels, two of the joy chemicals that help regulate our state of mind and maintain depression and all forms of stress at bay.
Additionally, being in charge of caring for your cat can help motivate the days you're feeling a little bit overwhelmed. Regardless of how much you may seem like to stay curled up in bed, there will continuously be a furry friend nosing at you and also advising you to get up, give him some chin scratches as well, as, for the love of everything, load his food bowl up. The power of feline love!
Those are just the eight things that cat owners have over non-cat owners! What other benefits does your cat give? Share them in the comments below!
