Can pets help us prevent cognitive decline?
Might it be that by having to remember to bring poop bags on a walk with your dog (so you don’t summon the wrath of your “friendly” neighbourhood, Karen/Kevin, upon yourself), you train your memory?
Or could the fact that you constantly need to get up to let the cat back in just to let it back out 5 minutes later again (if you own a cat, you get my daily struggle), give you enough exercise?
These two examples are some of the many things that keep us on our toes as pet owners but does pet ownership really help our brains?
A recent study on more than 1,300 adults has discovered that long-term pet ownership might help with cognitive decline in older adults.
What Did The Study Find?
- As you probably could guess, dogs were the most commonly owned pet, closely followed by cats. People in the study also owned various other pets, including birds, fish, hamsters, rabbits, and reptiles.
- Pet ownership was beneficial for working verbal memory, like memorising words.
- The most significant results of pet ownership on cognitive decline prevention were seen after 5 years of owning an animal.
Why Can Animals Help With Cognitive Decline?
The main reason is that interaction with animals can reduce stress in humans (ignoring my two examples above). Previous studies have found connections between interactions with companion animals and physiological measures of stress decrease, including a lowering in cortisol levels and blood pressure, which could influence cognitive health in the long term.
And research shows animals can have other positive ‘side effects’ on people’s mental health, which can help prevent cognitive decline:
- Increase in physical activity: Especially dog owners who go on daily walks (and cat owners who don’t have cat flaps😼).
- Reliable companionship and increased social interaction: Dog owners meet fellow dog owners in parks and start chatting, or people bond with other cat owners over the mischief cats get up to. Animals are also great companions when you don’t have much family or friends, someone is always around, and that can combat loneliness.
- Help with having a sense of purpose and keeping up a routine: Feeding, exercising and caring for a pet can help keep to a daily routine, which can help you feel more grounded and focused. It can give the day purpose and a sense of achievement.
However, it is not recommended to use pet ownership as a therapeutic intervention yet, and it is still early days in this research field, so more studies need to be published before pets can be recommended for this purpose.
Ways To Benefit From Pets Without The Commitment
If you are interested in the benefits but pet ownership just isn’t right for you or you are not currently in a position to adopt an animal, there are other options.
Fostering or volunteering for an animal shelter
This usually involves you doing the work/caring for the animal, but the organisation will provide the costs pet ownership brings along with it. So this option might be a good idea if the only reason you cannot adopt a pet is because of the financial aspects involved and if you prefer having an animal for a shorter time until it will find its forever home. Talk with a charity near you to find out what help they could need. Some might need dog walkers to help out older adults or those with a disability, which means they can’t walk their dog as easily anymore.
Try helping out a neighbour or friend
Maybe some of your neighbours and their dogs would really appreciate help with an extra walk a day, or you could offer to help out when they are on holiday to give their cat some attention when they are away.
But if you rather provide a forever home to an animal, ensure that you know what you get yourself into. It’s certainly not all rosy and stress-free in the world of pet ownership. It should be about the animal you are adopting and what is best for them, and if their needs will align with yours. Imagine being adopted by someone without you having any say in it; you would want that person to be properly prepared!
Also, please consider adopting an animal from a rescue organisation or shelter and don’t shop; just a couple of the thousands of reasons why this is so important you can find on the World Wide Veterinary Service website.
And last but not least, a stylish dog poop bag holder for your dog’s lead might help with not forgetting to bring one along on your walk and keep Karen and Kevin’s wrath at bay. And for your cat issue, well, you could invest in a cat flap, but at the end of the day, accepting that cats are the ultimate overlords of the house will be much easier!
