Friendly dogs reduce students' stress levels

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-03-13 05:00

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Playing with a friendly dog for 15 minutes reduces stress levels among Thai university students, according to Thai and US scientists. They asked 122 students to report how stressed they felt before and after playing with one of six dogs, and measured the students' blood pressure, heart rate and the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their saliva. To see if the dogs were benefitting, the team also measured cortisol levels in their saliva and poo before and after meeting the students. After playing with the dogs, the students reported feeling less stressed, and their heart rates and cortisol levels decreased. Cortisol levels in the dogs' saliva weren't affected by the interaction, but levels in the animals' poo increased, which the researchers say is likely because they were excited rather than stressed, based on their behaviour. Friendly dogs could be a valuable addition to university stress management programs, the authors conclude.

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conference: PLOS ONE

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Organisation/s: Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Funder: This study was financially supported by Chiang Mai University (https://www.cmu. ac.th) in the form of a CMU High Impact SE Network grant (M66IN00105) received by KN. The article processing charge was also supported by Chiang Mai University through the Research Center for Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health in the form of a grant (R68IN00028) received by JK.

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