Khaberni - A new study reveals an unexpected benefit of spending time with dogs, especially for women.
The results showed that just an hour a week of interaction with these pets can slow down cellular aging signs in women.
Researchers from Florida Atlantic University found that regular contact with dogs helps slow the shortening of "telomeres"—the end parts of DNA that act as a protective shield for chromosomes and are a key indicator of biological aging.
The study confirmed that the effect was particularly evident in women, indicating that dogs might provide a natural and effective way to reduce stress and improve cellular health, without the need for medical or costly interventions.
Dr. Cheryl Krause-Barclay, the study's lead author and an assistant professor of nursing at Florida Atlantic University, said, "Interacting with animals not only provides emotional support but also creates positive biological and psychological effects that reduce the impacts of stress and enhance the sense of security and emotional stability, which is crucial for women."
The study included 28 women aged between 32 and 72, all of whom were veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The participants were divided into two groups:
The first group: actually participated in training service dogs for their fellow veterans.
The second group: watched video clips about training dogs for one hour weekly over eight weeks.
The participants wore monitoring devices to measure physiological stress indicators, such as heart rate variability, and saliva samples were analyzed to determine telomere length, as a measure of cellular aging.
The results showed that the women who directly interacted with the dogs experienced an increase in telomere length, indicating a slowing down of the biological aging process, while the length decreased in the group that did not interact with the dogs.
Psychologically, all participants reported decreases in anxiety levels and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, with the most noticeable effects in the group that actively participated in dog training.
The study was described as "pioneering" in understanding the biological effects of interacting with animals, particularly in women suffering from psychological disorders related to stress. Krause-Barclay noted that the team plans to expand the study in the future to include larger samples and veteran men, to gain a broader understanding of the impact of interacting with dogs on mental and physical health.
The study's results were published in the journal Behavioral Sciences.
