You know that good feeling you get from your pooches? It’s not just your imagination.
You’ve probably heard of oxytocin – it’s a hormone that reduces stress and increases trust in humans. Most people associate it with mothers, because moms have higher levels of it after giving birth. It seems to help with mother-child bonding.
Well, researchers in Japan have found that it’s not confined to human interactions. People also get an oxytocin boost from looking at their beloved dogs.
Human-pet bonding gives us a hormonal boost
Scientists studied two groups of people with their dogs. The first group was told to avoid eye contact with their dogs; the second group made eye contact during a play session.
The group that made eye contact experienced a 20% boost in their oxytocin levels. And those who made the most eye contact expressed the most satisfaction with their pets.
Art print from Dogstuff
The other group, that avoided eye contact, actually had a slight drop in oxytocin levels.
The scientists say this could help explain how dogs were domesticated thousands of years ago. And why playing with our dogs relieves stress and depression.
So go ahead, enjoy it.
