Millions of households around the world have at least one pet to care for and love. In fact, these days, even college campuses allow pets within their walls.
Such a change of heart can do a lot of good for young people. As we all know, college can be an extremely stressful time in a person’s life. It is a period of pressure, endless homework, money issues, and difficulty in adjusting to new environments.
However, having a pet at home can help young people reduce stress. They do magic with our mood, heart rate, and even the chemicals in our blood. So, let’s see how pets help students cope with stress.
Pets lower our stress hormones
There is actual evidence that pets can reduce people’s anxiety and stress. The research was done to analyze people’s blood and mental state before, during, and after spending time with a pet.
The results showed that just about five minutes of play could drastically improve one’s mental health, including reducing anxiety and enforcing a sense of peace and calmness. It happens due to pets' ability to reduce or even stop the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol.
On the contrary, a few minutes of interactions with pets may raise happiness hormones, including dopamine and serotonin. Such hormones can reduce the presence of cortisol in our blood, reducing the state of alertness in the nervous system.
In fact, just looking at pets or even videos of fun animals online can spike our dopamine levels, which is a small life hack students should use when stressed.
Pets make us feel needed
There is something about feeling needed by another living being. A pet at home not only loves but relies on you in everything. They trust you to take the best care of them and make all the right decisions. Sure, such care can be intimidating or demanding at times.
Any person who has ever had to take their dog to a vet because they were choking or vomiting knows the stress of it far too well. Still, except for emergencies, having such a responsibility can be rather beneficial. It is especially true for young people just entering college.
It is the first time when they need to take care of themselves all alone. Having a pet in the house forces them to take on such a responsibility faster and with greater dedication. They have one more living thing to keep safe and healthy.
They can’t let them down. Such thoughts help direct students into more productive, positive thinking. It grounds them and helps them take charge of their lives without the resistance some young people may experience at first.
Pets shift our focus from ourselves
Sometimes, a lot of trouble comes from being too focused on ourselves and our thoughts. Students get caught up in their flow of thoughts and get more and more narrow, focused only on themselves, their issues, and potential difficulties in school, private life, etc.
Such a tendency can be dangerous and increase one’s stress levels and anxiety. Overall, being too self-absolved doesn’t serve well for anyone. Instead, a pet can teach us to be more in the moment.
However, getting too much into your head is nearly possible when you have a pet, especially if it’s a dog. Having a dog as a pet will force you to build an entire day's routine around them. Though, any pet will make a person think about them beyond just personal troubles.
So, the next time you feel too stuck in your own thoughts and worries, try to spend more time with a pet instead. After all, you may hire professional homework help to make more room for self or pet care. The best option to learn the idea of how to find out if essay writer legit is read in our review.
Pets reduce loneliness
It’s hard to feel alone when there is a loving little creature at your side. A pet will be there for you no matter what. Animals love you even when they don’t show it that evident (hellooo, cat owners). Wherever you come home, you have someone waiting for you.
The anticipation of such meetings brings you joy and warmth every day. In addition, a reduced sense of loneliness is particularly important for students. They are most prone to homesickness and feeling loneliness while away from home for the first time.
Lastly, dog owners, among all other pet owners, have no choice but to live a more extroverted life. You will have to leave your house at least twice a day. Plus, dogs benefit from a change in the walking routine by introducing them to new routes every once in a while.
Dogs are also very social and require some playtime with other canines. As a result, you will also have to meet new people weekly and live a more active and social lifestyle.
Pet care promotes self-care
Lastly, the lessons on pet care can also teach students about self-care. Young people need to learn how to feed, groom, entertain, etc. their pets. These lessons teach students about the need to fulfill basic needs, including arranging quality time, not only for pets but for themselves too.
By the way, one way to make time for self-care is by using professional writing services like writingpapersucks.com. Overall, students should always make room for their mental health alone with their pets.
