Study finds interacting with dogs can reduce depression and stress 

By James Gamble via SWNS

Playing with a dog changes our brain waves, boosting relaxation and concentration, whilst reducing stress and depression.

Scientists believe the results show that "pet therapy" could be prescribed to bolster mental health.

Researchers measured the effects on the brain waves of participants as they interacted with dogs and found countless benefits to the activities.

The South Korean study concluded that the results provided strong evidence of the potential benefits of "animal-assisted interventions" (AAI) for humans.

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, sought to explore the effects on the brain of playing and performing activities with dogs.

The researchers noted how AAI was already in use in some hospitals, schools and other environments to help reduce anxiety, relieve stress and foster feelings of trust.

However, studies measuring the potential benefits of these animal interactions often take the more holistic approach of comparing people's moods or hormone levels before and after spending time with the animals.

This type of research therefore fails to differentiate between types of interactions like grooming, feeding or playing with an animal - therefore limiting our understanding of how each specific activity impacts our health and well-being.

To better understand how AAI might affect our brains and moods, Onyoo Yoo and colleagues from Konkuk University in South Korea recruited 30 adult participants to perform eight different activities for three minutes each with a well-trained, four-year-old female poodle.

The activities included: playing with a hand-held toy, giving the dog treats, massaging, hugging, walking and taking pictures with the dog.

Participants simultaneously wore electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes to record electrical activity from the brain whilst they interacted with the poodle, and recorded their subjective emotional state immediately after each activity.

The relative strength of alpha-band oscillations in the brain increased whilst participants played with and walked the dog, reflecting a state of 'relaxed wakefulness'.

Whilst grooming, massaging or playing with the dog, relative beta-band oscillation strength was found to increase - a boost typically linked to heightened concentration levels.

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

The researchers did admit that though not all the participants had pets of their own, their fondness for animals likely motivated their willingness to participate in the experiment, potentially biasing the results.

However, the authors nonetheless stated that the physiological effects their study demonstrated provide strong evidence of the potential benefits of targeted animal-assisted interventions in the future.

"This study demonstrated that specific dog activities could activate stronger relaxation, emotional stability, attention, concentration and creativity by facilitating increased brain activity," Yoo said.

"Our study demonstrates that animal interaction activities such as playing, walking, massaging and grooming dogs have a positive effect by facilitating increased brain activity in healthy participants.

"Notably, playing with a dog positively affected both relaxation and concentration.

"Participants showed significantly lower stress moods in all the activities.

"Dogs can communicate with people. They have been faithful friends to humans and share emotions beyond that of an efficient assistant.

"These results provide data that form the basis for a composition of the AAI program and may be applicable as a reference to determine the most effective activities for specific applications."