Puppy Playtime

Hindi words of the week:

परीक्षा  Pareeksha (puh-ree-ksh-aah) – exam
पिल्ला  Pilla (pi-ll-aa) – puppy

I love dogs. Simple as that. I love them and so do many of you guys. My pet dogs are my best friends, they’re loyal and nice and listen to commands. Not all dogs are like that; some harken back to their pre-domesticated ways. So when were dogs domesticated? The answer is around 20,000 – 40,000 years ago. We know that our ancestors domesticated dogs for multiple purposes, chiefly among them protection and companionship. However, these are not the only benefits man’s best friends provides.

Researchers analyzed about 3.4 million people over a 12 year period and found that those with at least one pet were at far lower risk for cardiovascular disease and over all mortality. Furthermore, researchers at University of Florida found that our four-legged friends may help to reduce childhood stress. They monitored children’s stress levels by testing the salivary levels of cortisol which is a hormone released when someone gets stressed. These researchers found that children with a pet present did not necessarily reporting reduced levels of stress after being exposed to a stressor but did secrete less cortisol. Another study performed by the Mayo Clinic found that dogs can even increase the quality of a persons sleep! They tracked people with dogs over the age of at least 6 months with bracelets that monitored movement and sleep practices and quality were recorded for all the participants. They found that while people who had at least 1 dog sleep in their bedroom had better quality sleep those that let the dog share the bed did not.

Aren’t dogs and pets amazing? I honestly love my pets, and with exams coming up I am spending more and more time with them. What about you guys? How’s studying? Finals are around the corner, and in an effort to finish the semester with some review time, professors are cramming these weeks of classes with information. It’s been stressful but I can play with my pets when I take study breaks and when I’m bored. Fetch is definitely the ultimate past time. I hope you haven’t been getting too stressed out about classes ending and finals. However, if you are, Montgomery College has an annual puppy playtime event. The event this year takes place on April 29th at Takoma Park and Silver Spring. You can find more details about it in the link provided above. Go play with some puppies; lower that blood pressure.