It is my ongoing passion to document the health benefits that people derive from their pets. In a recent post, I surmised that in the future it will be shown that pets help to prevent cognitive decline (memory loss and dementia) in the people they live with. The post was based upon two studies that showed social networks help to prevent cognitive decline. My thesis was that pets are part of social networks. Therefore, pets help to prevent memory impairment and dementia.
As I was browsing the internet the other day, I came upon another article. From the article:
The good news is that moderate exercise over most of your life can not only assist in the prevention of onset cognitive deterioration, but may actually be able to reverse existing damage, at least to a certain extent.
I was immediately reminded of one of my other previous posts: people with dogs get more exercise than people who don’t have dogs.
Having a dog leads to more exercise. More exercise leads to improved cognitive function. Connect the dots.
All that remains is for a study to show a direct link between pet ownership and improved cognitive function (rather than the indirect links that I keep making). I believe it is only a matter of time.
