学进去

I started considering the power of dogs during one of my daily walks around my neighborhood. Almost invariably, I’ll run into at least one person walking his dog. It’s a joyous moment to approach the dog and pet it. I always walk away from these exchanges feeling just a bit more relaxed and happy. And that got me wondering: Could these short interactions with other people’s dogs actually be good for me?

“Absolutely. I think it is safe to say that animals are beneficial to our mental and physical health,” says Nancy Gee, a professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. Gee says there’s some evidence that the act of actually touching a dog might be an important part of the calming effect. For instance, one study done in Canada found college students reported less stress and reduced feelings of homesickness after brief interactions with dogs, and that the effect was much bigger in those who actually got to pet the animals.

Now, the therapy (治疗) dogs used in research are screened for things like friendliness, good behavior and responsiveness to their handler’s cues (提示). And of course, not everyone is a dog person. “Pets are not a panacea (灵丹妙药),” Gee says. “They’re not necessarily going to be great for every single person. But for people who really connect with the animals, they can make a big difference.”

Research on the health benefits of human interactions with animals, especially with dogs, has exploded in recent years, thanks to the support of the National Institutes of Health and the Waltham PetCare Science Institute. Though the field is still young, Gee says the quality of the evidence is improving all the time, including more randomized controlled trials looking at short interactions. “We’re seeing really nice effects,” she says. “We actually saw those effects one month later. And there’s some evidence that they may exist six months later.”