1) Lower blood pressure and less stress. Studies carried out by the University of Warwick have shown that interacting with pets (such as stroking them or playing with them) can lower your blood pressure and make you more relaxed. Another study tested to see if pets had the same effect on highly strung stockbrokers. The researchers found that the blood pressure reading of stockbrokers who owned pets was significantly lower than that of stockbrokers who did not keep pets. Of course, this does not ring true if everyone ” if you do not like animals or are afraid of them, pets will most likely have the opposite effect.

2) Recovery from illness. Pets have been known to help ill patients in the most wondrous ways, but heart attack patients have benefitted from pet power most frequently. Numerous studies have shown pet owners who suffer from heart attacks live longer and have a lower risk of heart disease than heart attack patients who do not have a pet at home. Pets also offer a great amount of comfort to their bed-ridden owners, and this support speeds up their recovery.

In extreme cases, such as when a person is in a coma, surgeons have even recommended for a pet to be brought to the patients bedside. While there is no real evidence to support this claim, there have been incidences when the pets presence helped the patient awake from their coma. Dogs, in particular, have also been known to offer relief to Alzheimers and Parkinsons patients.

3) Improves social life. Many domesticated animals are social creatures, and therefore provide much social interaction ” whether it is a cat that curls up and falls a sleep on your lap or a dog that follows you from room to room ” a pet owner is very rarely alone. Pets also serve as great ice-breakers or conversation starters among strangers, both inside and outside the home.

4) Happiness. It is often underestimated how much pets can influence our happiness. In many cases they have helped their owners deal with loss and hardships, even helping them fight depression. Some psychologists have even recommended the use of pets in therapy sessions, as petting a rabbit or playing with a dog raises the serotonin levels in our brain. Being greeted by an energetic dog or purring cat that is excited to see you can be very uplifting if you feel like the life just isnt going your way. This is why pets are also used in elderly homes, to help individuals feel less lonely and isolated.

Regardless of whether you break up with a loved one or lose your job, your pet will love you no matter what; and that, in itself, is an essential quality that human beings cannot live without.