Top 10 Reasons To Have A Pet | Why You Should Get A Pet?

Pet is a companion animal kept for fun or for the company instead of kept as livestock or working animals. Cats, as well as dogs, are the most common pets. But there are several others on the list, including Rabbits, Hamsters, Poultry, Fish, etc.

Pets can be beneficial to deal with depression, stress, and anxiety. Pets are the best friends in times of loneliness. Pets encourage playfulness and exercise and can even lead to the improvement of one’s cardiovascular health. Pets prove to be a faithful partner or a companion for human beings, especially adult ones.

Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.

George Eliot

In this article, you will be reading about the top 10 reasons to have a pet, and why you should get a pet?

10. Prove As A Good Company

Loneliness is often described as the state of being alone or in a state of solitude, which leads to mental pain, pressure, or even stress and depression. It has many ill effects, including drug addiction, obesity, illness, substance abuse, declining health, and even premature death.

Nowadays, people are busy with their hectic schedules and don’t have time to spend with each other. Pets prove good company in times of loneliness.

For Example – Pets can provide company to the older people who have no one to spend time with them. Lack of company for people with older age can be depressing and saddening. In addition, loneliness among aged people can lead to several health issues like depression, stress, anxiety, Alzheimer’s, etc.

Having nothing to do, older people sit in a single place, which leads to various physical diseases. Pets provide company to more senior people resulting in improvement of their physical and mental health.

Pets can prove to be a good buddy for those who stay away from their home and family because of their job. The lack of company of a friend or family member can be depressing, but there’s no such thing in the presence of a pet.

Pets have always proved to be the best, loyal and faithful companions who offer unconditional love to their owners.

Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.

Colette

9. Helpful For Kids

Several kids possess stage fear and lack confidence. One of the incredible benefits of having pets is that it helps build confidence in kids.

Pets never give orders to children, just like parents or teachers. Also, pets are beneficial for calming over aggressive kids or kids who are hyperactive.

A pet acts as a good company for kids whose parents don’t have much time to spend with them and as a source of building confidence. Kids can talk freely without the fear of being scolded by pets, and this builds confidence in them as well as helps in improving vocabulary.

These days kids are busy either with studies or mobile phones. It degrades both their mental as well as their physical health. There is a lot of mental pressure on kids due to the burden of studies.

Spending time with pets can leave a calming and soothing effect on the brains of young ones. In addition, spending time with pets helps give a break from schoolwork and mental pressure, and plenty of relaxation.

Physical health has been continuously deteriorating in kids due to the lack of physical activity in kids because of sticking either to the academic syllabus or the video games. However, the kids can play with pets, especially dogs, while running around or playing with balls, which can eventually lead to the betterment of kids’ physical health.

8. Fulfillment Of Required Touch And Love

Pets can fulfill the required touch by humans. Hugging or touching your pet helps soothe and calm you when you are stressed or depressed. Pets help boost mood and ease anxiety.

Stroking or petting an animal result in improvement of one’s mood. Even though pets cannot speak, as we humans can, to express their feelings, they have several other ways (through actions) to express.

An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.

Martin Buber

7. Lowering High Levels Of Cholesterol

Higher cholesterol levels can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes and limit blood flow. High cholesterol is also known as hypercholesterolemia. Due to various side effects of high cholesterol, including those mentioned above, it is essential to get rid of it.

There are various self-care methods (like physical exercise and a low-fat diet) to treat high cholesterol. But, of course, the easiest one owns a pet, and various studies have been done to check out the excellent health benefits reaped by pet owners as compared to those who don’t own a pet.

People who own pets generally have lower cholesterol levels than those who don’t own a pet. Even the centers for preventing and controlling diseases mention that owning a pet can decrease triglycerides, cholesterol, and blood pressure.

6. Helpful In Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) is a condition that results in high blood force against the walls of the artery. So when you have a furry friend or pet at your place, there’s no room for stress and anxiety.

Cuddling and playing with your pet can help with conditions of stress and depression. Laughing, cuddling, and playing with pets help feel better and calm, less stressed, and enlightened. Therefore, it proves helpful in hypertension by lowering blood pressure.

5. Stress Relief

Having a pet helps in improving mood and reducing stress. Oxytocin, a chemical that removes negative thoughts and leads to a positive mood, is released by our brain when we cuddle, laugh, and interact with pets. So spending time with pets is quite a relaxing way of reducing stress and anxiety.

Spending time with pets not only reduces stress but also soothes tension, lowers blood pressure, keeps us happy, and stimulates blood circulation.

4. Helps In Staying Active And Maintaining A Schedule

Pets are best for lazy people who always prefer to stay in bed. However, when you own the pet, you also own its responsibilities.

Pet owners have to take care of a pet, feed it, and take it for a walk. It proves helpful if one wants to stay active. This helps in maintaining and following a proper schedule and staying active.

If you are someone who sticks to the bed and doesn’t bother to move out, pets can help you make active. But, of course, pets need to be fed from time to time, and there are several other responsibilities related to them too.

3. Good For Heart Health

Studies show that people who have pets are less prone to heart attacks and heart diseases. Pets encourage playfulness and exercise and can hence lead to the improvement of one’s cardiovascular health.

2. Helpful In Depression

The number of people with depression is incredibly increasing day by day. The four different types of depression are biological, situational, existential, and psychological. Each of these has its primary causes.

There are several therapies and techniques to deal with depression, like individual counseling, biofeedback, group therapy, guided imagery, qigong, tai chi, etc. In addition, reducing alcohol intake, avoiding substance abuse, engaging in some physical activity like exercising, and engaging with family or friends may also help.

Animal therapy is one of the best therapy, and it proves helpful in dealing with depression. You are less likely to be depressed when you own a pet and spend time with it. Owning a pet can be beneficial in mild depression and moderate depression, as believed by experts.

Researches show that having a pet can help alleviate anxiety, depression, aggression, and several other mental health issues.

1. Helpful In Weight Loss

These days, obesity has become one of the major health issues. Of course, everyone wants to look slim and build lean muscles. But, at the same time, many of us are too lazy to lift heavy weights, go to the gym or do cardio workouts.

Taking your pet, especially your dog, for a walk can help you lose extra pounds without doing any extra workouts.

If you walk alone, you can feel monotonous or boring very quickly and easily decide to give up. Still, if there’s a company, especially a loving and caring pet, you will never feel bored and motiveless while going for a walk. Likewise, you never feel tired while walking with a dog or any other pet, and do not even bother for how long you walk with your pet.

A study by Mars Petcare, a dog food manufacturer company, showed that people who owned a dog walked 30 mins more per week after owning the dog than before.

Conclusion

The reasons to have a pet aren’t just limited to what is mentioned in this article. There are several other reasons to have a pet apart from those mentioned above, which you will realize after bringing your pet to your house if you don’t have one. So, if you are thinking of adopting a pet for yourself, then go ahead and adopt one.