Playing with your dog increases brain waves that relieve stress, study says

Play with a dogpetting, feeding or hugging it can increase brain waves associated with stress relief and concentration, according to a study published today by PLOS One.

Some animals, including dogs, are increasingly used as therapy in hospitals, schools and other settings to help reduce anxiety, relieve stress and foster feelings of trust.

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But studies on the possible benefits of animal interactions typically take a holistic approach, comparing people’s mood or hormone levels before and after spending time with a service animal.

That approach does not distinguish between types of interactions with the animal, which limits understanding of how each specific activity impacts a person’s health and well-being.

A team from Konkuk University (South Korea) performed brain scans on 30 volunteers to learn about specific changes in brain activity while they performed eight different activities with a dog.

The volunteers, with an average age of 27, wore electrodes to record the brain’s electrical activity in the prefrontal, frontal, parietal and occipital lobes during the activities. In addition, their subjective emotional state was recorded immediately after each activity.

Each interaction with the animal lasted three minutes and included meeting it, playing with it, feeding it, massaging it, grooming it, taking photographs, hugging it and walking it.

The relative intensity of alpha band oscillations in the brain increased while participants played with the dog and walked it, reflecting a state of relaxed wakefulness.

Grooming, gently massaging or playing with the animal increased the relative intensity of the beta band oscillation, a stimulus often associated with greater concentration without stress.

Participants reported feeling significantly less fatigued, depressed, and stressed after all dog-related activities.

The study demonstrates, as the authors write, that dCertain activities with dogs “could activate greater relaxation, emotional stability, attention, concentration and creativity by facilitating an increase in brain activity”as well as “reduce stress and induce positive emotional responses.”

Although not all research participants had pets, it is likely that their love of animals motivated their willingness to participate in the experiment, which could bias the results.

However, the authors state that the unique relationships between specific activities and their physiological effects could serve as a reference for programming specific animal-assisted interventions in the future.

Source: Elcomercio

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