Woman's best friend! Spending time with dogs slows ageing in women

"They're known as 'man's best friend', but dogs may be especially beneficial company for women. A new study reveals how pooches have an extraordinary anti-ageing effect on ladies. According to the authors, spending just one hour per week with a dog slows a key indicator of cellular ageing known as 'telomere length'. For women, dogs may be a cheap and effective form of treatment to help reduce the physical toll of stress and improve cellular health, say the experts."

"Study author Dr Cheryl Krause-Parello, associate professor of nursing at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), thinks animals have positive 'biopsychosocial' effects on women. 'Nontraditional approaches like connecting with animals can offer meaningful support,' she said. 'These relationships provide emotional safety and stability, which can be especially powerful for women.' For the study, the researchers recruited 28 women aged 32 to 72, all of whom were veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - the anxiety disorder caused by stressful, frightening or distressing events."

"The women were randomly assigned to two groups, both of which took part in one-hour sessions each week for eight weeks. In the first group, women volunteered to train service dogs for other fellow veterans in need, while in the second 'comparison' group the women only watched dog training videos. Wearable monitors fitted to the participants measured biological indicators of stress, including heart rate variability (the amount of time between heartbeats), while telomere length - a marker of cellular aging - was determined through saliva samples."

Twenty-eight female veterans with PTSD, aged 32 to 72, were randomly assigned to two groups that met for one-hour weekly sessions over eight weeks. One group volunteered to train service dogs for fellow veterans, while the comparison group watched dog training videos. Wearable monitors measured biological stress indicators such as heart rate variability, and telomere length—a marker of cellular aging—was assessed via saliva samples. Spending just one hour per week with a dog slowed telomere shortening in women, suggesting dog interaction can reduce the physical toll of stress and support cellular health affordably.

Read at Mail Online