Learn why having a pet can benefit your mental health and overall well-being.

Having a furry friend, whether it's a dog, cat, or even a rabbit, may do wonders for your mental health, as was demonstrated during lockdown.

In a survey conducted last year, nearly 90% of British pet owners reported that having a pet made them feel mentally healthier. Owners of cats and rabbits were somewhat behind, with 85% and 81 percent, respectively.

Pets have such a great impact on their owners, and studies have revealed that they are capable of far more than we realize. Here are eleven reasons why we need pets, according to Marltons:

• Dogs can understand a wide range of words people commonly use and can analyze our tone of voice, body language, and gestures to try to figure out what we are thinking and feeling.
• Touching a friendly pet can result in lower blood pressure, a slower heart rate, and relaxed muscle tension - all symptoms of reduced stress, according to studies.
• Playing with pets can help you relax and calm down. Whether you're throwing a ball in the garden for your dog or watching your cat chase its favorite mouse toy around the house, playing with a pet can increase your serotonin and dopamine levels, which can help you relax and calm down.
• Emotional therapy and loneliness prevention: Pets satisfy the basic human desire for love, affection, and touch. Emotional support dogs are becoming more widely accepted as an important component of mental health treatment. In fact, people who keep pets are less likely to be depressed.
• Mental and physical companion for the elderly: Pets have proven to be a lifeline for encouraging social connection and are frequently utilized in alternative therapies for depression, as well as more complex therapies for Alzheimer's Disease and dementia.
• Pet owners had lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels (indicators of heart disease) than non-pet owners, and heart attack victims with pets live longer.
• Pain relief: Pets are used to help youngsters with cancer cope with their pain and worry.
• Help you develop mindfulness: Giving folks a reason to 'paws' for contemplation provides them a sense of purpose that they really need.
• Behavioral therapy (sometimes known as cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT) is a type of Even the most toughest offenders undergo long-term behavioral changes after interacting with dogs, as many of them experience mutual affection for the first time.
• Encourage social interaction: Birds make wonderful companions for the elderly since they provide them with someone to talk to and care for, as well as helping to keep their minds bright.