21 Aug Pets for Seniors = Rx for Happiness and Good Health
Add the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research to the list of groups that have found that pets are important in keeping the elderly not only happy but also in good health. Studies for many years have come to that same conclusion. Previously it had been discovered that heart attack patients who owned pets live longer than those who had no pet. Studies reveal that petting your dog increases a hormone called oxytocin – which makes one feel happier. Further, petting your pet apparently reduces blood pressure of heart attack patients. UCLA researchers were actually doing a study on how services should be delivered to the elderly and poor to assess their needs and preferences and determine ways to remain safely in their own home, but they found this result by accident.