If you’re a pet parent, you know that meaningful bonding with an animal can have a variety of health benefits. National Institutes of Health Independent non-profit organization Help GuideOwning a pet can reduce stress, anxiety and depression, improve heart health by lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and even help develop children’s social and emotional skills. But did you know that pets can also help combat feelings of loneliness?
Some studies have looked at the potential impact of pet companionship on loneliness and social isolation, and while more research is needed on the relationship, there is some evidence that having a furry, scaly or feathered pet friend may help reduce feelings of loneliness.
To find out how pet owners are doing and what the science has to say about it, Being petted We’ve collated existing research that examines the relationship between pet ownership and loneliness, including a range of scientific studies, reviews, and credible surveys.
The spread of loneliness
According to experts such as US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, loneliness in America isn’t just a problem for older people, single people, or people who live in remote areas — it’s an epidemic.
In his 2023 general recommendations, Murthy wrote: About half of all adults in the United States They reported feeling lonely even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Loneliness is not just a bad feeling – it harms both individual and societal health, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety and premature death,” Murthy added. “The impact of social isolation on mortality is similar to that of smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than the impact of obesity and physical inactivity.”
Building stronger, more supportive relationships is another way to reduce feelings of loneliness, but this isn’t always easy for everyone, physically or mentally. 2 out of 3 American households They already have a tool in front of them that could potentially help ease their feelings of loneliness: a pet.
To feel is to believe
A national survey of pet owners and non-pet owners conducted by the Human Animal Bond Institute and Mars Petcare found that: More than four in five respondents (85%) Three in four (76%) agreed that interacting with a pet may help reduce feelings of loneliness, and three in four (76%) agreed that human-pet interaction may have a positive impact on social isolation.Of the pet owners surveyed, four in five said their pets help them feel less lonely, with more than half (54%) saying their pet companions help them connect with other humans.
Other studies have confirmed that pet owners in general tend to believe that the company of their pets has a positive impact on their overall mental health and helps them feel less lonely.
the study A study published in the journal Zoology in 2021 conducted an online survey of 1,199 participants, 84% of whom said they own at least one pet. The survey found that the majority of respondents felt that their pets had a positive impact on their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. About 85% of respondents who owned dogs and about three in four respondents who owned cats felt that their pets had an “extremely or moderately positive impact” on their mental health.
Sometimes, simply believing you’re doing something to combat a mental or physical health problem can actually help treat it, and recent scientific studies support the idea that the placebo effect can be effective in certain cases. Potentially effective As a traditional medicine.
But when it comes to hard scientific evidence, the jury is still out on whether owning a pet has a strong or meaningful impact on human loneliness and social isolation. In the Animals article cited above, the authors summarize: “Consistent with past research, these findings indicate that people believe that their pets have had a positive impact on their lives during the pandemic, but quantitative evidence to support these beliefs is lacking.”
Science Says
a Science Review 2022 A paper published in the Journal of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology analyzing the results of 24 studies focusing on pet ownership and lower social isolation and loneliness also found that only a small proportion of included studies established a significant association between pet ownership, social isolation, and loneliness. More specifically, with regard to loneliness, the authors wrote, “Studies conducted after the COVID-19 outbreak primarily indicated that pet ownership may contribute to lower loneliness, but no significant associations were found overall before then.”
Ann Previous reviews A 2015 paper published in the journal Anthrozoös evaluated quantitative studies on pets and human loneliness from five large electronic databases. The paper concluded that of 21 studies that met the criteria, all but one were “underpowered.” In scientific terms, a study is considered underpowered if it does not include a large enough sample size to provide a meaningful answer to the research question.
More research is needed before we can scientifically say that your dog, or any other beloved animal companion, can help prevent or overcome loneliness and social isolation, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be useful. Research questions that rely so much on perceived connection (i.e., what people think vs. proven reality) can be very difficult to answer. The extent to which pets can reduce loneliness is also likely to depend, at least in part, on the closeness of the bond between owner and pet.
But despite the uncertainty that remains, large, reputable health organizations like the NIH now continue to support the idea that having a pet can reduce loneliness, provide a sense of security, and increase feelings of social support. According to the American Psychiatric Association, the leading authority on human mental health in the United States, pets can: Strengthening mental health treatment Supports mental health.
While the science isn’t there yet, if you’re one of the growing number of people struggling with loneliness and social isolation, you might want to consider adding an animal friend to your life. If you’re ready to commit to becoming a pet owner, organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals urge you to consider getting a pet that will be a lifelong friend, which might help them feel a little less lonely.
Story editor: Carren Jao. Copy editor: Paris Close.
This story originally appeared on Pettable , produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
