Man's Best Friend and Touch

By -
Man’s best friend or your baby right? I’m sure you refer to your dog that way. I mean everyone loves their puppies, well except if they have a terrible allergy, but many still continue loving them. Humans and dogs have been companions for thousands of years, according to Classen, they have been hunting assistants, chest and lap warmers, they were given to ladies to be play companions and entertain them during long carriage rides, and even in some depictions biblically present at events such as the last supper eating the crumbs.
Touch plays a role in this human animal bond, because if there is no loving and trusting touch between the human and animal, there is no relationship. And as Classen points out, the word pet explains within itself a pet, we pet a pet! Good news is that if you are obsessed with your pooch and call them your best friend or baby you actually aren’t crazy, science is on your side. Studies show that a few minutes of stroking our pet dog prompts a release of a number of "feel good" hormones in humans, including serotonin, prolactin (the hormone found in breast milk) and oxytocin. It also decreases cortisol, our stress hormone. Cortisol causes high blood sugar and suppresses the immune system, so as you can see too much is very harmful. In our body the hormonal changes that occur when humans and dogs interact could help people cope with depression, anxiety, and certain stress-related, high cortisol disorders.
One of the most influential studies come from Kerstin Uvnas-Moberg, an M.D. and Ph.D. at Uppsala University in Sweden. Uvnas-Moberg and her team studied the effects of owner and dog interactions by taking blood samples from owners and their dogs before and during a petting session. The samples taken before the petting didn't show any results, but samples taken within one and three minutes during the petting showed increased oxytocin in both the owner and the dog. Oxytocin is an indispensable part of childbirth and mother-child bonding. It's most widely understood function is its role in childbirth, it causes the uterine muscles to contract once released and it is present in the male reproductive system. After birth, mothers can establish intimacy and trust with their baby through gentle touches and even a loving gaze. Studies have also shown that a rise in oxytocin levels can even relieve pain. Oxytocin also can increase trust levels and make people feel more at ease in social situations. So next time you’re sad and petting your best furry friend calms you down, remember all the “feel good” chemicals flooding your brain.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amidst the Pandemic

By -
Image
I think having the opportunity to take Smells and Bells and then experiencing a worldwide pandemic came with good timing. Oftentimes, we’re so rushed to get from one one place to another that we miss out on what happens around us. We’re so accustomed to the lifestyle of being busy that it has become the norm for many of us. However, the pandemic has forced us to slow down. We’re now appreciating everything that we had previously taken for granted and noticing things in our surroundings that we have never noticed before.  Take this quarantining/social distancing as an opportunity to be more aware of what you experience through the senses. I don’t think my senses have necessarily heightened over the past 5 weeks, but I am actively making the choice to pay more attention to what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I like going on nature/mindfulness walks and basking in the sunshine out in my backyard. This morning, I could hear a faint noise from the wind, hear the birds chirpin...
Read more

Healing, purity, and revitalization: A tour of Kashmiri staple spices

By -
Image
“So, Adi, what do you want to know about spices?” These were the words that started my evening at Iqbal’s, an old family friend and professor of management at UMass Amherst alongside my parents. Although his department is that of economics, his expertise, in my opinion, lies in the realm of authentic Kashmiri cooking. He taught me and my parents how food is traditionally eaten by hand in India, how they were often served in large, metal bowls in which the individual components of the meal were free to mix, and now (at the behest of my parents) I’d come to learn about the nuances of spice in Iqbal’s cultural background. Admittedly, I had no idea what questions to ask or where to start, but thankfully Iqbal came prepared for this lesson. He opened a large drawer underneath the counter, revealing countless honey-jars repurposed for spice containment. “In just about all religions, spices have been used as disinfectant,” Iqbal tells me as he passes me a handful of cloves, prom...
Read more

In conclusion

By Anonymous -
I signed up to take this class in order to fulfill a connection (with nutrition), something that the administration of our college is moving to phase out or perhaps alter significantly. And while I found some connections to be a stretch, looking at the catalogue of what was possible, I thought most were solid. However I'm still pissed at the school for not letting me connect a class about the religion of Judaism and a class on the history of Jews in Europe, seemed like a layup, but I digress. I'm still glad I took the class. While I can't promise I'll retain all the content, I do feel like I learned a decent amount about my peers in the class. People sharing anecdotes about memories brought on by smells and sounds, it reminded me about how interesting people can be and what the human mind can do. Also I had fun during the banquet, making a pizza, for a live audience, wearing a shirt saying "Pizza's got your back", but sadly theres nothing on the back o...
Read more