Doing this simple thing with your pet can reduce stress levels - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Life Doing this simple thing with your pet can reduce stress levels By You Magazine - July 24, 2019 Balancing your career, family life and an active social life can be quite stressful, so we’re all about trying new wellness methods to ease our minds and feel zen. And a new study has revealed a quick and easy way to do just that – though you’ll need to be a pet owner for this one. Getty Images Scientists from Washington State University have found that petting and cuddling your cat or dog for just ten minutes can instantly reduce your stress levels. The research, published in AERA Open, an open access journal by the American Educational Research Association, was conducted via a study in which scientists looked at how 249 college students interacted with cats and dogs in different ways. As reported by Pretty52, Patricia Pendry, an associate professor in WSU’s Departments of Human Development explained the study, saying: ‘Just ten minutes can have a significant impact. Students in our study that interacted with cats and dogs had a significant reduction in cortisol, a major stress hormone.’ In order to get their results, the researchers divided the participants into four different groups. Group number one had 10 minutes of hands-on interaction with dogs and cats and group number two sat and observed others petting the animals, while the third group watched a slideshow of the same animals and the fourth was put on a waiting list and told they would be allowed to see the animals after waiting for 10 minutes. Getty Images Their results, which were determined by salivary samples that were collected from each participant that morning, showed a significant decrease in the students’ cortisol levels during a real-life intervention and became the first research project to do so. ‘We already knew that students enjoy interacting with animals and that is helps them experience more positive emotions,’ said Dr Pendry. ‘What we wanted to learn was whether this exposure would help students reduce their stress in a less subjective way.’ She added: ‘And it did, which is exciting because the reduction of stress hormones may, over time, have significant benefits for physical and mental health.’ Right, we’re off to pitch a de-stressing pets hour to our boss. RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Everything we know about The Crown season 5 Aldi s exercise equipment is on sale with up to 50% off The best Halloween events for 2022 across the UK Popular in Life The You magazine team reveal their New Year s resolutions December 31, 2021 Susannah Taylor The TLC tools your body will love January 23, 2022 How to stop living in fear February 6, 2022 Susannah Taylor My pick of the fittest leggings February 27, 2022 Women’ s Prize for Fiction 2022 winner announced June 17, 2022 These BBC dramas are returning for a second series June 30, 2022 Susannah Taylor gives the lowdown on nature s little helper – CBD April 17, 2022 The baby names that are banned across the world April 27, 2022 The Queen has released her own emojis May 26, 2022 Sally Brompton horoscopes 27th June-3rd July 2022 June 26, 2022 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved