Petting a Dog for Just a Few Minutes Can Reduce Stress and Increase Happy Hormones

Interacting with a dog for even a short time can decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol, say experts

Dogs provide more than just companionship.

Interacting with dogs — whether yours or someone else's — has a positive impact on a person’s mental health, Nancy Gee, a psychology professor and director of the Center for Human-Animal Interaction at Virginia Commonwealth University told NPR.

“I think it is safe to say that animals are beneficial to our mental and physical health," Gee said, telling the outlet that spending 5 to 20 minutes with a dog can decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

"Also, we see increases in oxytocin, that feel-good kind of bonding hormone," she added. "We see the same thing in the dogs, so the dogs' oxytocin also increases when they interact with a human."

Related: Owning a Dog Lowers Risk of Early Death by 24 Percent, New Study Finds

But, she told the outlet, whether a person truly reaps those health benefits depends on whether they are a dog person and how much they “connect” with the animals.

"Pets are not a panacea," she said. "They're not necessarily going to be great for every single person. But for people who really get it, who really connect with the animals, they really can make a big difference.”

Gee collaborated on another study that examined the effects of dogs’ impact on 8- and 9-year-old children in the U.K. Kids that were able to interact with dogs in the classroom twice a week reported less stress and improved focus.

"We actually saw [those effects] one month later,” Gee said. “And there's some evidence that [they] may exist six months later.”

Additional research funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Waltham PetCare Science Institute shows that even short interactions between humans and pets have “really nice effects.”

Related: Study Finds You Can 'Pet Your Stress Away' By Cuddling Cats and Dogs

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Another researcher, Megan Mueller, who is an associate professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, told NPR of another study, this one done in Canada. It showed that college students not only reported less stress after interacting with a dog briefly, but also experienced fewer feelings of homesickness. Those benefits were even greater when they had greater interactions with the dogs, such as petting them.

Mueller said, "Some of the initial research has shown that physical touch might impact our nervous system in a way that's beneficial.”

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