Stroking a cat or dog for just 10 minutes can significantly reduce stress according to the latest research.
Scientists studied nearly 250 students in the first experiment of its kind to look at real interactions.
Some colleges in the US already have ‘Pet Your Stress Away’ programmes where students can stroke animals to alleviate their anxiety.
It was known this boosted their mood but until now there was no real research into the physiological effects of doing so.
The team from Washington State University found that there were huge reductions in the stress hormone cortisol from just 10 minutes interaction.
Patricia Pendry, an associate professor in WSU’s Department of Human Development said: “Students in our study that interacted with cats and dogs had a significant reduction in cortisol, a major stress hormone.
“Just 10 minutes can have a significant impact.”
The results were published in the journal AERA Open is it is the first study that has demonstrated reductions in students’ cortisol levels during a real-life intervention rather than in a laboratory setting.
The 249 college students who took part were randomly divided into four groups.
The first group received hands-on interaction in small groups with cats and dogs for 10 minutes. They could pet, play with, and generally hang out with the animals as they wanted.
To compare effects of different exposures to animals, the second group observed other people petting animals while they waited in line for their turn.
The third group watched a slideshow of the same animals available during the intervention, while the fourth group was “waitlisted.”
Those students waited for their turn quietly for 10 minutes without their phones, reading materials, or other stimuli, but were told they would experience animal interaction soon.
Several salivary cortisol samples were collected from each participant, starting in the morning when they woke up.
Once all the data was crunched from the various samples, the students who interacted directly with the pets showed significantly less cortisol in their saliva after the interaction.
These results were found even while considering that some students may have had very high or low levels to begin with.
Prof Pendry said: “College is stressful. Students have classes, papers, and exams, but they also often have work, bills to pay, and so many other pressures common in modern life.
“We already knew that students enjoy interacting with animals, and that it helps them experience more positive emotions.
“What we wanted to learn was whether this exposure would help students reduce their stress in a less subjective way, which it did.
“This is exciting because the reduction of stress hormones may, over time, have significant benefits for physical and mental health.”