UrbanUpdate

Taking care of a dog is a big responsibility, no doubt. And yes, sometimes it can even be a little frustrating. My six-month-old Shih-Tzu, Alfie, is still convinced that Balenciaga 3XLs are the ultimate chew toy. (He’s on a real shoelace kick, so I get it.) But most every dog owner would agree that the companionship we gain from our canine comrades makes it all worth it. They enrich our lives and love us unconditionally through good times and bad, and that’s enough.

That said, there are also some bonus health benefits that come with having a dog in your life. Some are obvious, like how taking them outside gets us up and moving, or how staying on top of walks and mealtimes lends structure to our days, which can subsequently make us better at time management. But that’s only scratching the surface of what dogs can do for our well-being. The mental health benefits in particular—validated by more scientific research than you can shake your pup’s favorite stick at—are kind of staggering.

“When we say ‘man's best friend,’ there's a reason for that. Dogs have become adept at socializing with humans, and they're very sensitive to our emotional states. So it only makes sense that having a dog really can have a positive effect on one's physical and mental health.” says clinical psychiatrist Gil Lichtshein, MD. “They have this special, unique bond with humans that I think no other animal has.”

“We've been co-evolving with dogs for maybe 80,000 years. As a result, dogs in particular have become one of the smartest animals relative to human beings,” says Philip Tedeschi, human-animal connection expert with Rover and director emeritus and founder of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection. “They can recognize minor changes in our psychological or emotional states, facial expressions, tone of voice, body posture, heartbeat, and respiration, which makes them highly responsive companions.”

Here are a couple of ways that having a dog can be beneficial to your overall health and wellness.

They fight off loneliness—and the associated health risks

You’ve probably heard by now that we’re in the midst of a loneliness epidemic that is affecting approximately half of all Americans—and taking a toll on our health. Last year, the US Surgeon General issued a report that points out how loneliness can increase the risk of serious conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and dementia, and raise the risk of premature death by 29 percent.

“One of the biggest predictors of someone's health is having sufficient support systems around them,” says Tedeschi. “Most of the time people imagine we're talking only about human beings as support systems, but it turns out that the research really suggests that support can also come from our companion animals.”

Indeed, studies have consistently shown that owning a dog reduces feelings of loneliness, and a 2020 survey conducted by the Human Animal Bond Research Institute found that 80 percent of pet owners reported feeling less lonely than those without pets. As for the downstream health effects of loneliness, a Swedish study with a whopping sample size of 3.4 million people found dog owners in particular to have a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease and death overall. “That's huge, especially considering that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States,” says Shari B. Kaplan, LCSW, integrative mental health clinician at Cannectd Wellness.

They encourage you to engage with your community

In addition to their inherent ability to reduce feelings of loneliness, dogs force us to interact with our communities. Speaking from personal experience, earlier this year I went from not knowing my neighbors (I live in New York, it’s normal) to meeting the better part of the people living on my block—all thanks to Alfie.

“When you have a dog, you have to walk your dog. And it just gives more opportunity for that community engagement." says Jamie Richardson, BVetMed, head of veterinary medicine at Small Door Veterinary.

“Having a dog gets us into social spaces and engaging with the world in ways that we maybe weren't before,” says Thomas Banta, LMHC, LCAC, a clinical mental health counselor. “That can be really healthy on a couple of levels.”

Recent research shows us that feeling a sense of community is an important factor for our overall mental health and psychological well-being. Among other things, it helps us to feel connected to others, put our own lives into perspective, and reinforce a sense of identity. Dogs not only nudge us towards these kinds of beneficial social interactions; they also make us more adept at navigating them, with studies finding that having a dog can improve self-esteem, mitigate negativity caused by social rejection, and even make us appear more attractive!

They provide long-term (and instant) stress relief

Dogs can literally lower our stress levels without even trying. Researchers at Washington State University found that petting a dog for just 10 minutes was enough to considerably lower levels of the “stress hormone” cortisol in college students. In fact, a Japanese study found that simply gazing into the eyes of a dog raised levels of oxytocin, a hormone that has been shown to decrease stress and anxiety and support psychological stability.

“As we've started to get better tools for measuring biomarkers, we've started to get studies that really are kind of underwriting these benefits,” says Tedeschi. “We see these positive neurotransmitters increased and the stress indicators—cortisol and those sorts of things—reduced. And the result is, when people are interacting with dogs, they're more talkative, people are often more optimistic, more friendly, more likely to participate, take social risks, things like that—indicators that somebody is feeling connected and experiencing a sense of well-being”

Even when you’re not actively petting your dog (or frantically gazing deep into their eyes to de-stress between Zoom calls), you are more than likely passively reaping the stress-relieving benefits of having them around. A 2013 study found that dogs’ mere presence lowered their owners’ blood pressure during their daily lives.

They remind us about what’s important in relationships and life

In the age of divisive politics and superficial social media, it can be treacherously easy to lose sight of our core human values. “One of the challenges for our society at this point is that many people have found themselves, at a minimum, distrustful of other human beings, and sometimes outright scared or uncertain about interacting with each other,” says Tedeschi.

Dogs can help keep us grounded, and reacquaint us with the foundations of a healthy, empathetic relationship. “They don't judge us on things like the color of our skin, the balance in our bank account, or those kinds of material measures, which are some of the worst parts of society. And it's not because they're not capable of judgment. That's just not what they're judging us for,” says Tedeschi. “They are judging us on things like if we are willing to be kind and fair. If we are willing to spend some of our time with them. And these things start to become reminders of the measures that make for a good relationship.”

“If you have an awful day, when you come home your dog doesn't care,” says Dr. Richardson. “Have you been good at your job or bad at your job? Have you had a negative interaction with someone? Have you maybe not presented yourself to the world correctly? They don't care. They're just happy to see you, and they're happy every single time that they see you.”

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Dean Stattmann is a writer for GQ, where he covers health, fitness, and wellness. An award-winning magazine editor and writer with over a decade covering men's lifestyle, Dean has profiled A-listers like Hugh Jackman and Jamie Foxx, reported from behind the scenes at the Tour de France, and skateboarded with... Read moreInstagramRelated Stories for GQMental Health