Pets - Helping Beat Stress and Depression

According to recent research conducted by a UK based pet nutrition company, 'pets play an essential part in our well-being, by helping to beat stress and depression'.

Around 60% of British pet owners believe that spending time with their pet is their best way to relax; more agree that their pet is their best stress reliever and helps them through rough times in their life.

Other interesting results to come out of their survey are that:

over 80% of pet owners consider their pet's health is just as important as their own or their family's health,
72% say that their pet is their best friend,
90% saying they would do whatever they could to ensure the happiness of their pet and,
90% said their pet was an important member of their family.

Our comments on the survey are that it doesn't seem to matter what you choose as your pet. Your pet is likely to be good company and the daily contact with another living being will give you a sense of responsibility aned care, leaving you more relaxed. The feel good effect of pet ownership is believed to reduce stress levels, lower the heart rate and as a result pet owners are known to visit their doctors less often, recover faster from any illness and are much less likely to be depressed.