The Impact of Schools on Mental Health

The National Institutes of health research database on the Power of Pets

The National Institutes of Health and the Mars Corporation’s WALTAM Center for Pet Nutrition teamed up to fund studies on the impact of pets and interactions with animals. This included interactions with kids who autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other conditions.

“There’s not one 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. “Is your goal to increase physical activity? Then you might benefit from owning a dog. You have to walk a dog several times a day and you’re going to increase physical activity. If your goal is reducing stress, sometimes watching fish swim can result in a feeling of calmness. So there’s no one type fits all.”

Some of the findings include: 

• Dogs in the classroom help children with ADHD focus their attention. The study divided kids into two groups. One read stories to therapy dogs for 12, 30-minute sessions. The second group read to animal hand puppets. The kids who read to real dogs had better social skills, including more sharing, cooperation and volunteering. They had fewer behavioral problems as well.
• Children with autism were calmer while playing with guinea pigs in the classroom. After spending 10 minutes of supervised play time with the animals, their anxiety levels dropped. Thei social skills and interactions with other kids improved. 
• Caring for fish helped teens with diabetes better manage their disease. The teens fed the fish twice a day and checked their water levels, while changing the water once a week. Children who cared for the fish were more consistent in checking their blood-glucose level logs with their parents than those who didn’t have fish. 

The Power of Pets for your Well Being

A research review by the American Psychiatric Association found that pets help reduce the toll of ADHD, Anxiety, Autism and Depression. Moreover, having a pet can help people get mor exercise, maintain a healthy routine, live in the moment and meet new people. 

Some of the study results include: 

• Children with autism were calmer, less anxious and more engaged with peers after playing with guinea pigs for 10 minutes.
• Watching fish in a tank reduces blood pressure and pulse rate.
• A 2020 study of dog and cat ownership involving 3,000 teenagers over a two yar period found dog ownership was the best when it comes to maintaining a sense of well being. However cat ownership also had benefits over having no pet at all. Children who had a dog or cat at age 10 reported a greater sense of well-being at 12.
• Another study looked at the effect of a dog’s tendency to make and maintain eye contact with humans, a rare trait in animals. The study found that this gazing behavior increased oxytocin levels in both the human and the dog. This hormone plays a role in stress regulation and positive social behavior.
• A 2019 study found that bringing a dog into a family had an almost immediate positive impact on reported mental well being. The eight-month Australian study involved three groups of urban residents. On group got a dog within a month of the start of the stone, one after the study concluded and one group didn’t get a dog. Having a dog reduced self-reported loneliness within three months and the benefit persisted through the end of the study.

Human Animal Bond Research Institute

This website includes a research tab that includes studies on the impact of animals on a huge list of conditions and characteristics. That includes child health and development, allergies, autism, mental health, health aging, cancer, cardiovascular health, quality of life, social isolation and workplace wellness. 

Some of the research highlights cited on the website include: 

• One in five of the pet owners in one survey said a doctor or therapist had recommended they get a pet.
• One in five Americans say they feel a lack of deep connection and understanding among other humans and 80% of people surveyed said when they feel isolated, they turn to a pet for comfort. Half of those surveyed said a pet also made them feel more connected to other people.
• A study that included groups in the U.S. and Australia found that pet ownership increased social bonds. Dogs had the biggest impact, but 27% of people with other pets said they met neighbors and other people through interactions inspired by the pets.
• A study of pets in the classroom found it significantly increases social skills and academic reading competence while decreasing hyperactivity. Parents said pets made their children more empathetic and caring at home.
• When Alzheimer’s patients ate their meals in a room with a fish tank, they ate more, were less likely to require supplemental nutrition and exhibited fewer behavioral issues associated with sundown syndrome.
• Service dogs help combat veterans deal with post traumatic stress disorder by increasing environmental awareness, emotional calming and intervention during panic attacks and nightmares. Veterans with the dogs experienced improved sleep, stronger family connection, smoother integration into communities and higher employment rates.
• Children in pets who are also in talk therapy for mental health problems had an easier time opening up and talking about their problems.