Dog Walking Good For Your Brain

Yes, walking your dog can help boost your memory!

Besides enjoying the outdoors, getting some exercise, and bonding with your dog, it has been proven that walking can modestly expand the hippocampus and improve memory.

In healthy adults, the hippocampus — a part of the brain important to the formation of memories — begins to atrophy around age 55 or 60.

In a study published on January 31st in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers randomly assigned 120 healthy but sedentary men and women (average age mid-60s) to one of two exercise groups. One group walked around a track three times a week, building up to 40 minutes at a stretch; the other did a variety of less aerobic exercises, including yoga and resistance training with bands.

After a year, brain scans showed that among the walkers, the hippocampus had increased in volume by about 2 percent on average; in the others, it had declined by about 1.4 percent. Since such a decline is normal in older adults, “a 2 percent increase is fairly significant,” said the lead author, Kirk Erickson, a psychologist at the University of Pittsburgh. Both groups also improved on a test of spatial memory, but the walkers improved more.

While it is hard to generalize from this study to other populations, the researchers were delighted to learn that the hippocampus might expand with exercise. “And not that much exercise,” Dr. Erickson pointed out.

So, keep on walking to stay healthy and mentally sharp.

Pets Can Help Us

Tests have shown that owning a pet can help people attain a better level of physical health. Petting an animal can lower your heart rate and your blood pressure and even promote healing. Also, recent studies show that having pets at work lowers stress levels and makes employees more productive.

But pets can help us in other ways, too. They help us to relax and focus on things other than our problems.

Pets fulfill the natural craving we have for emotional relationships. Whenever we do something for another living thing, we feel better about ourselves. Here are some other ways pets make us feel better:

A Cure for Loneliness

Pets can help us to feel less lonely and isolated. Feeling needed also works to foster positive feelings. Pets give a sense of purpose; they always need something – food, a walk, a stroke, and a kind word, and they are usually appreciative. As an added benefit, if you leash up your dog and take a walk through the neighborhood or through a dog-friendly park, more than likely someone will talk to you. Studies have shown that people walking with a dog talk to new people far more often than if the dog was not with them.

Coming home to your pet gives you something to look forward to. Dogs may score highest in "greetings," but most pets are delighted to see their owners walk through the door and will show it in some way. If you have a pet, you are not alone.

Someone to Love

If you love your pet, that love comes back to you tenfold. It is love of the best kind – unconditional and enduring. Animals offer this love, along with reliable companionship – often for a lot less trouble than having a relationship with a human. No matter how cranky you get, your pet always forgives you and continues to show affection.

Physical Contact

Cuddling and stroking your pet is good for you and helps you to forget about your day at work or your boredom. Petting an animal helps to promote a sense of pleasure and calmness.

Someone to Talk To

It is a known fact that talking things out relieves a lot of internal pressure, but just having someone to talk to makes a difference, too. Talk about anything – your pet will listen, and, even better, he will not disagree. Share your thoughts, feelings, troubles, worries – or say something stupid – your pet will still love you.

Sense of Security

Certain animals promote a sense of safety. Your dog will bark to warn you of impending danger. But the sense of having someone with you is often enough to make you feel less anxious and more secure.

Motivation to Move

If your pet needs to be walked every day, you will be exercising – whether you want to or not. Walking with your dog also helps you to deal with the physical stress of the day. Walking gives you an opportunity to get outside and breathe fresh air.

The Human-animal Bond

The strength of the human-animal bond is not a myth. Although life with a pet is not always easy, the joy of pet ownership can be a wonderful experience. A slurpy kiss from your dog promotes very special feelings and creates a human/animal bond that can last for many years.

January - Walk Your Pet Month

January is Walk Your Pet Month.

What a great way to start the year! Ceasar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, is a firm believer that many behavior problems can be helped by providing more structured exercise. Walking your dog can actually help you to meet your own fitness goals. A recent study from the University of Missouri found that people who walk with dogs are more consistent in their exercise routine than those who walk with a human -- what could be a better way to burn off those holiday calories?

Throughout the country, people are hosting group walks to show their commitment to Walk Your Pet Month. Is there an event near you? If there is not an event going on in your area, create your own! Get your neighbors together and take a stroll around the block. Or ask some friends -- human and canine -- if they want to meet up with you and your pup for a hike in your favorite spot.