14 Ways That Your Pets Are Making You a Healthier Person

It may seem counter intuitive, but 2001 study indicates indicate that early exposure to felines can actually help to prevent children from developing asthma. According to the results of the study, children who live in a home with a pet cat(or cats) are likely to develop an immune response which will prevent them from developing asthma later in life.

A 1988 study found that petting your pet can result in lowering blood pressure, with the physical touch believed to be the key factor. According to the study, subjects' blood pressure was at its lowest when petting a dog, became higher when simply talking to a dog, and were at its highest when interacting with another human.

Studies are finding that owning pets may be associated with lower cholesterol levels, with pet-owners found to have lower levels of cholesterol and triglycerides than people who don't own pets.

Owning a dog can actually help people who struggle with loneliness and isolation — especially those who are shy or feel awkward in social situations — forge connections, as dogs can be natural conversation starters. "People ask about breed, they watch the dog's tricks," Kaslow says. "Sometimes the conversation stays at the 'dog level,' sometimes it becomes a real social interchange," explained Dr. Nadine Kaslow of Atlanta's Emory University in an interview with WebMD.

Owning a cat can significantly reduce your risk of a stroke, with a 2008 study indicating that cat owners were one-third less likely to suffer a stroke than those without canine companions. "The logical explanation may be that cat ownership relieves stress and anxiety and subsequently reduces the risk of heart disease," noted Dr. Adnan Qureshi from the University of Minnesota, who carried out the study.

Conventional thinking once held that children in homes with pets were more prone to developing allergies, but recent research is indicating the opposite may actually be true, especially when that pet is a dog. "Dogs are dirty animals, and this suggests that babies who have greater exposure to dirt and allergens have a stronger immune system," noted researcher James E. Gern, MD, a pediatrician at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. According to Gern's study, infants in homes where a dog was present were less likely to show evidence of pet allergies, 19 per cent vs. 33 per cent in homes without a dog. "Exposure to dogs was associated with reduced allergen sensitization," notes the study.

Spending time playing with your dog, cat or other pet can elevate your body's production of serotonin and dopamine, depression-fighting nerve transmitters that create a pleasurable feeling of well-being. "People take drugs like heroin and cocaine to raise serotonin and dopamine, but the healthy way to do it is to pet your dog, or hug your spouse, watch sunsets, or get around something beautiful in nature," Dr. Blair Justice, Blair Justice, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health, explained to WebMD.

"Studies have shown that Alzheimer's patients have fewer anxious outbursts if there is an animal in the home," Lynette Hart, PhD, associate professor at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, told WebMD. "Studies have shown that Alzheimer's patients have fewer anxious outbursts if there is an animal in the home," Lynette Hart, PhD, associate professor at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, told WebMD. "Their caregivers also feel less burdened when there is a pet, particularly if it is a cat, which generally requires less care than a dog."

Can owning pets actually improve your bone density as you get older? It may sound far-fetched, yet it may be possible. Walking your dog, for example, is a weight-bearing exercise that will strengthen bones and muscles, and getting outdoors will increase your intake of Vitamin D, which is essentially in keeping bones strong. Interestingly, cats may also contribute to improving their owners' bone density, but for a very different reason: the sound frequencies of a cat's purring is between 25 and 150 Hertz, and some researchers have found that sound frequencies between 20 and 50 Hertz can improve bone density and speed the healing of bones and muscles.

Pets can have a calming effect on us that acts as an instant stress-reliever. "A powerful neurochemical, oxytocin, is released when we look at our companion animal, which brings feelings of joy," Rebecca A. Johnson, PhD, director of the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, tells Health.com. "It's also accompanied by a decrease in cortisol, a stress hormone."

“Over the last decade or so there have been periodic reports on the association between pet ownership and cardiovascular risk risk,” said Dr. Glenn N. Levine, a cardiologist with the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Administration Medical Center in Houston, who is also lead author of a study that investigated the influence of pets on their owners' heart health. There are a variety of reasons between this correlation, but one of the key factors is simply that dogs need regular walks and exercise and, which forces their owners to walk with them.

According to a 2013 study, dog owners are more active than people who don't own dogs, proving that owning a dog is helpful in boosting your overall fitness. “Overall, the results of this review indicate that dog ownership is consistently associated with higher levels of walking,” noted the authors of the study. “Moreover, dog owners (and dog walkers) were more likely than non-dog owners (and non-dog walkers) to meet the recommended levels of [physical activity].”

Hanging out with your pet makes you feel good, and it turns out there's a physiological reason for that. "When a dog owner looks into a dog's eyes and pets the dog, the owner will release oxytocin, the love hormone," Harvard Medical School's Dr. Elizabeth Frates told CBS News. In addition, she noted that petting a dog can reduce a person's levels of the stress hormone cortisol."

Children with autism may have difficulties interacting with other people, yet are more easily able to interact with pets. In fact, a 2014 study indicates that autistic children in homes with a family pet were likely to develop better social skills. “Children with autism may especially benefit from interacting with dogs, which can provide unconditional, nonjudgmental love and companionship,” said the study’s author, Dr. Gretchen Carlisle of the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine.