Call (714) 770-8207 to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

Call (714) 770-8207 to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

Pets Can Be Good for Your Health

Posted by Sandi Crawford, April 16, 2019

Like most people, you take steps to take care of your health. You visit your doctor regularly, take your prescribed medications, eat a balanced diet, and try to get enough sleep. But you might be surprised to learn that there are other, less conventional ways to promote physical and mental health.

One of those methods is simply owning a pet. The latest National Poll on Healthy Aging, sponsored by the AARP and Michigan Medicine, uncovers some surprising health benefits for older adults who own pets:

  • 9 in 10 pet owners say that their pet helps them enjoy life and feel loved
  • 8 in 10 say that their pet helps to reduce stress levels
  • Two-thirds say that their pet helps them to stay physically active and stick to a routine
  • 65 percent report that their pet helps them connect with other people (preventing loneliness)

When the survey respondents suffer health problems, the benefits of pet ownership are even greater:

  • 72 percent say their pet helps them cope with physical or emotional symptoms
  • 46 percent report that their pet helps to take their mind off of pain

Perhaps it is the feeling of unconditional love that pets offer, or simply having to focus on taking care of someone who depends on us… Either way, pet ownership clearly confers benefits to both physical and emotional health.

But what if you can’t have a pet, due to restrictions from your living environment, or an uncertainty that you would be able to care for one full-time? There are other ways to enjoy the benefits of contact with domesticated animals, such as:

  • Visiting your local animal shelter (the pets there will appreciate the attention)
  • Pet sitting for friends or family
  • Visits with a therapist who utilizes “pet therapy” (some service dogs are trained to visit at hospitals and nursing homes)

Give it a try! You will find that cats, dogs, and other animals have a lot to offer, and require very little from you in return. And at the same time, you might find that your human relationships improve as well.

Need more information?

Contact us online to learn more

Contact Us

Close Accessibility Tools
Accessibility Controls Reset
Content Adjustments
Font Size

Default

Line Height

Default

Content Scaling

Default

Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Highlight Forms
Align Left
Align Center
Align Right
Focus Mode
Color Adjustments
Desaturate
Monochrome
Contrast

Default

Saturation

Default

Accessibility Statement

Despite our attempts to make this website accessible for everyone, there may still be some pages or sections that are not completely accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or do not have a suitable technological solution to make them accessible. Nevertheless, we are always striving to enhance our accessibility by adding, updating, improving its options and features, and incorporating new technologies.

We want to provide our users with the best experience possible, so we strive to support as many browsers and assistive technologies as possible.

If you wish to contact this website's owner, please use the contact form on the website.

Our User Interface Adjustment Options

Font adjustments - With this tool, users can modify font size, style, letter spacing, and line height for improved alignment and readability.

Color adjustments - Users can customize their color contrast profiles to light, dark, desaturated, and monochrome.

Content highlighting - Users can prioritize key elements such as links, forms, and titles.

Content focus - Users can enable focus mode to highlight the current page information based on their mouse movement.

Close