Spending quality time with dogs can reduce stress while simultaneously boosting brainwave activity associated with relaxation and attention, according to research published in the latest issue of the open-access journal PLOS ONE by researchers at Konkuk University in South Korea.
Animal-assisted interventions, such as canine therapy, are increasingly being used in hospitals, schools, and other settings to help people reduce anxiety, relieve stress, and build trust.
Current research into the potential benefits of these therapies has largely focused on comparing people's mood or hormone levels before and after spending time with a service animal. This approach does not distinguish between different types of interactions, such as petting, feeding, or playing with the animal, which limits our understanding of how each specific interaction affects human well-being.
To better understand how specific interactions affect mood, the research team recruited 30 adult participants, each of whom engaged in eight different activities with a trained dog.
Participants wore electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes to record their brain's electrical activity while interacting with the dog, and their subjective emotional states were recorded immediately after each activity.
When participants played with the dog or walked it, the relative strength of alpha band oscillations in their brains increased, reflecting a relaxed but alert state. When they groomed the dog or gave it a gentle massage, the relative strength of beta band oscillations increased, which is typically associated with increased attention.
Participants also reported significantly reduced fatigue, depression, and stress after all dog-related activities.
While not all participants owned pets, their fondness for animals likely motivated their willingness to participate in the experiment, which could have biased the results.
Nonetheless, the researchers say, the unique relationships between specific activities and their physiological effects could inform the development of targeted animal-assisted interventions in the future.
