In our fast-paced lives, we are all looking for a moment of relaxation, to relieve stress, but also to feel in a better mood to better concentrate on a task at hand. Some turn to physical activity, others favor reading or music and others enjoy the presence of their pet. Korean researchers wondered about the benefits of interactions with dogs on stressconcentration and mood.
Researchers at Konkuk University, South Korea noticed that playing with a dog, stroking it or walking it, would reduce stress and increase the power of brain waves associated with relaxation and concentration. Their results are published in the review Plos One.
Concentration: playing with a dog would stimulate it
To arrive at these results, the researchers based themselves on a panel of 30 healthy adults. The researchers asked each of the participants to do eight different three-minute activities with a dog. The volunteers had to play with the dogs, give them cuddles, care, caresses, give them food or even take them out for a walk. At the same time, specialists analyzed brain waves in different areas of the brain responsible in particular for managing emotions, concentration and motor skills. Additionally, they asked participants to rate their emotion at the end of each activity.
The researchers noticed that brain areas did not activate in the same way depending on the activity with the dog. More specifically, they noted that the fact of caressof take a shower or from jplay with a dog allowed a better concentration in addition to reducing stress. Additionally, the authors found that nourish, massage And squeeze the dog in her arms allowed to reduce total mood disorder score. More broadly, the authors found that the participants were less stressed after doing one of the activities with the dog.
Stress: spending time with a dog would reduce it
This is not the first time that interactions with dogs, cats or even horses have been recognized for their ability to reduce anxiety and to relieve stress. Indeed, “animal-assisted interventions, such as canine therapy (cynotherapy Editor’s note), are widely used in hospitals and schools,” note the researchers.
The latter, however, wish to add nuance to the results of their research work. In fact, people “Having previous experience or fondness for animals may respond differently to animal-assisted activities, which could potentially introduce bias into study results.” Likewise, they specify that research on interactions between humans and animals “are still in their early stages and lack sufficient data.” Also, the authors call for new research on the subject.
Sources :
- Psychophysiological and emotional effects of human–Dog interactions by activity type: An electroencephalogram study – Plos One
- Interactions with dogs can increase brainwaves associated with stress relief and increased concentration – Press release