Animal Assisted Therapy - How animals help humans combat health problems

animal assisted therapy Animal assisted therapies (AAT) refers to taking the help of animals to improve the emotional and mental health of patients suffering from a variety of disorders including autism, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, dementia, cancer and others. Several studies have proved that the mere presence of certain animals and in some cases petting them is known to help relieve stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure, instill a sense of calm and even improve cardiovascular health. This World Animals Day, here’s a look at how animals come to our rescue when dealing with health issues.Birds Birds: Did you know that birds, especially large birds, can play a huge role in calming down hyper active children and regulate behavior in them? When impulsive and hyper active children were asked to sit in a room with birds like cockatoos and macaws, they tended to quite down and create less disruption, supposedly as a mark of respect to the birds’ presence.Horse Horse riding has immense benefits. The movement of riding, the horses, the way your pelvic muscles rest on the horse's body and move according to the horse's gait have an impact on your posture, spine alignment, muscle coordination among other physical traits. Equine therapy is also known to help children with neurological disorders including cerebral palsy deal with balance and coordination problems.Cat According to a research published in US-based Pittsburgh Gazette which studied therapy cats, it was found that petting cats, letting them curl up and sit on your lap or having them around helped lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety and helped children with special needs calm down and feel relaxed.Fish tank Ever noticed the fish tank at the reception of your dentist’s clinic? Fish tanks serve an important purpose. The Handbook of Animal Assisted Therapy (Edited by Aubrey H fine) says that the simple act of watching fish swim in an aquarium is known to relieve anxiety, help relax and lower blood pressure and pulse rate. According to a research by Nancy Edwards, School of Nursing, Purdue University and Alan M Beck, Department of veterinary pathobiology, Purdue University, who were examining the influence of fish aquariums, on nutritional intake in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, with fish aquariums around, the patients’ nutritional intake increased significantly and also led to weight gain.dog From children with autism [1] to people living with Alzheimer’s and from accident victims to victims of sexual abuse, therapy dogs are used across the world for boosting emotional and mental well being [2]. According to a study published in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Animal assisted therapy involving dogs helped in decreasing aggression and depression in those with dementia and Alzheimer’s.