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Companionship Between Dogs and the Elderly: How it Affects Their Health

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Last update: 13 April, 2018

When you are older, you should care more about your health. At this stage in life one’s body tends to deteriorate as the years go by. Weakening of the body is a natural process. This is why throughout history, one of the most important medical concerns has been finding ways to improve the health of the elderly.

Whether through medicine or certain habits, science has managed to find various methods to help elderly people become healthier. Although it may be surprising, doctors often recommend living with dogs. Man’s best friend offers numerous benefits for your health. If you had no idea, thoroughly reading this article is a good way to learn all about this amazing fact.

Improves your mood

It is well known that one of the greatest problems some older people face is loneliness. Usually this leads to sadness, and in some cases followed by depression. When living with a canine, these kinds of problems are practically non-existent. One of the biggest benefits these beautiful four-legged animals have to offer is their ability to fight depression.

Simply by being responsible for the life of a puppy, you constantly receive affection and interact with it daily. Therefore, dogs improve one’s mood in manner that keeps depression at bay. Additionally, it has been proven that contact with animals does help developa series of hormones which determine one’s mood.

Improves mental health

Without a doubt, this is another one of the greatest benefits that dogs have to offer. Many senior citizens often suffer from several types of mental illnesses. As some studies show, interacting with pets cause significant memory improvement in the elderly. This fact has become one of the main reasons why some doctors recommend living with a dog.

How is it that dogs offer this wonderful benefit? It’s because they represent the most powerful weapon against stress due to the way they entertain us with their doggy tricks and give us lots of loving with their affection. As scientists have determined, memory loss in elderly patients bears a close relationship with high stress levels, so getting rid of this problem is crucial.

Improves physical health

When becoming an elderly person, low-level exercise is essential to be the healthiest as possible. At this stage of life, physical problems tend to reoccur, hence doing exercise is essential. For this reason, many doctors consider a sedentary lifestyle very dangerous for the elderly. This is because their health will be harmed due to a lack of activity.

To solve this problem, the best option of all is to live with a canine friend. This beautiful four-legged fellah needs attention that will require non-demanding physical activities. One of the most important activities your furry friend requires are going out for walks.

Both you and your pet will feel healthier from it. This is because exercise decreases stress and makes you happier, which is very important if you want it to be as healthy as possible. It’s best to take your dog out for a walk at least 3 times a day for around 15 to 30 minutes. Walking provides a good number of important health benefits, such as lowering your blood pressure or strengthening your muscles.

Recommendations

When an elderly person wants to have a dog, it is important to assure the dog has the following characteristics:

Is more than 2 years´old
It is calm and obedient
Doesn’t walk too fast
Is a small or medium sized breed, such as a Yorkshire Terrier or Beagle

As you can see, dogs greatly improve the health of the senior citizens.