Explicaê

01

THE POWER OF PETS

 

1st § Research on human-animal interactions is still relatively new, but they have already

shown positive health effects. Interacting with animals has proved to decrease levels

of cortisol – a stress-related hormone – and lower blood pressure. Other than that,

pets may also decrease stress, improve heart health, and even help children with

their emotional and social skills.

2nd § Dogs are sometimes brought into hospitals or nursing homes to help reduce patients’

stress and anxiety. “They are very present. If someone is struggling with something,

they know how to sit there and be loving,” says Dr. Ann Berger, a physician and

researcher at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. “Their attention is

focused on the person all the time.”

3rd §Berger works with people who have cancer and terminal illnesses. She teaches them

about mindfulness to help decrease stress and manage pain. “The foundations of

mindfulness include attention, intention, compassion, and awareness,” Berger says.

“All of those are things that animals bring to the table. People kind of have to learn it.

Animals do this innately.”

4th § “There’s not one single answer about how a pet can help somebody with a specific

condition,” explains Dr. Layla Esposito, who oversees NIH’s Human-Animal

Interaction Research Program. NIH is funding large-scale surveys to find out the

range of pets people live with and how their relationships with their pets relate to

health. “We’re trying to tap into the subjective quality of the relationship with the

animal – that part of the bond that people feel with animals – and how that translates

into some of the health benefits,” explains Dr. James Griffin, a child development

expert at NIH.

Adapted from: https://newsinhealth.nih.gov. Accessed 20 April 2022.

Considering human-animal interactions, the main purpose of paragraph 1 is to state the following



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