Stressed? Go pet your best friend.

College is not a simple walk in the park. The papers, the presentations, the IRB research approval, the biochemistry, and the exams; they are all very stressful. In addition to being a college student, you may need to juggle other aspects in life such as work, bill payments, or familial obligations. But that is just how life is and knowing how to prioritize that workload is the key to succeeding. However, the ability to balance those responsibilities does not equate to completing them without stress. Stress is often overlooked as a feeling that is a byproduct in order to get the job done. Although acute stress can positively aid a student to feel pressure prompted and complete a task, chronic stress could lead to negative long-term consequences. Those effects can be an increased risk for chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety, heart attack, stroke, weight gain, or memory loss (Yaribeygi, Sahraei, Johnson, & Sahebkar, 2017).  

To avoid those deleterious effects and resolve chronic stress, the ideal solution is to remove the stressors but that may not always be logistically possible. For instance, exams are stressful but we can’t remove that as it is a part of the curriculum. However, there is a way to relieve that stress by petting your best friend. The best friend needs to be a cat or a dog. Stress is associated with elevated cortisol levels. In a 2019 study by Pendry and Vadagriff, they found that cortisol levels in university students significantly decreased when they pet dogs for 10 minutes.  

Another study found similar data that showed significant decrease in cortisol levels and increased oxytocin levels in participants (Handlin, Hydbring-Sandberg, Nilsson, Ejdeback, Jansson, & Uynas-Moberg, 2011). In addition to the increased oxytocin levels in human participants, the study measured the oxytocin levels in the dogs and found that they also had a significant increase in oxytocin levels.  

A 2015 study by Nagasawa and colleagues found a profound effect between human-dog interaction that does not necessarily need physical touch. The simple act of a human gazing into a dogs’ eyes can also increase oxytocin level in the human as well as the dog. So, the next time you are feeling stressed, go out and pet a cat or dog or if you are allergic, go and gaze at a cat or dog.  

 

References: 

 

Linda Handlin, Eva Hydbring-Sandberg, Anne Nilsson, Mikael Ejdebäck, Anna Jansson & Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg (2011) Short-Term Interaction between Dogs and Their Owners: Effects on Oxytocin, Cortisol, Insulin and Heart Rate—An Exploratory Study, Anthrozoös, 24:3, 301-315, DOI: 10.2752/175303711X13045914865385 

 

Nagasawa, M., Mitsui, S., En, S., Ohtani, N., Ohta, M., Sakuma, Y., Onaka, T., Mogi, K., & Kikusui, T. (2015). Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds. Science, 348(6232), 333–336. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261022 

 

Pendry, P., & Vandagriff, J. L. (2019). Animal Visitation Program (AVP) reduces cortisol levels of university students: A randomized controlled trial. AERA Open, 5(2), 233285841985259. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858419852592 

 

Yaribeygi, H., Panahi, Y., Sahraei, H., Johnston, T. P., & Sahebkar, A. (2017). The impact of stress on body function: A review. EXCLI journal, 16, 1057–1072. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2017-480