When you think of ways that you can improve your overall health, things like resistance training, jogging, and eating fruits and vegetables will probably come to mind immediately.
Although all of the aforementioned things are definitely great for you, they are not the only way you can improve your health.
In fact, there is probably someone purring at your feet right now while you are reading this magazine that can improve your overall health, too.
That's right! Having a pet can benefit your health in many ways.
Read further to find out how: Pets can help improve your mood - Have you ever come home from a hard day of work and been greeted by your pet as soon as you walk in the door? How did it make you feel? It probably put a smile on your face.
Studies show that interacting with pets can reduce symptoms of depression and help alleviate stress.
Pets can lower blood pressure - In a study conducted on a group of New York stockbrokers, those professionals who owned a pet experienced blood pressure lower than those who did not have a pet at home.
Needless to say, many of the study participants with higher blood pressure acquired a pet of some kind when the results came in!! Pets can make us more active - Those people who own a dog, for example, are more likely to get out of the house and go for walks.
Pets provide companionship that makes exercising more enjoyable.
Have you ever wondered why pets are used in hospitals for the terminally ill or in nursing homes? Pets provide people with a sense of well-being and peace that can be reached in no other way.
Pets help people to take their minds off their troubles or off of their aches and pains.
Pets are truly therapy for your body and soul.