|
for your health January 2024 (Volume 18, Issue 01) |
|
|
By editorial staff
Do you love pets? Of course you do. However, the heart is not the only organ in the body that benefits from having a pet. Your brain loves pets too. Therefore, owning one reduces the risk of cognitive decline. See what new research suggests about why our brains need pets, especially as we get older.
If you're older and living alone, your pet may compensate for the association between living alone and declining cognitive function, especially when it comes to verbal memory and verbal fluency. That's the result of a study published in 2016. JAMA network open The study evaluated living conditions, pet ownership, and cognitive decline in approximately 7,500 adults aged 50 and older.
Specifically, the study found that living alone accelerates cognitive decline, but owning a pet reduces this increased risk. That's probably because people who live alone but have pets don't really live alone! Indeed, they have no human companionship. However, many pet owners may say that their pets are just as good (if not better). When it comes to brain health, that seems to make perfect sense.
Other studies have revealed that as we age, social interaction (with humans) is an important variable that helps maintain health and well-being, and owning a pet is the key to maintaining health and well-being. Please keep in mind that this is not the case. Age healthy by staying healthy, eating right, and minimizing stress. And as these results show, it is important to place humans and pets at the center of our lives as partners.
