A look at the connections between device use and hormone levels in our bodies. Specifically, Catherine Price is examining connections to dopamine and cortisol. Dopamine is neurotransmitter that is viewed by popular culture and the media as being “the main chemical of pleasure.” But, recent research in pharmacology suggests that dopamine may instead be connected…
A new study examining the stress levels of working canines provides some reassuring results.
Research confirms that the benefits of pet therapy are real—but what do dogs think about helping humans? Science has considered this question too, and the results are reassuring. (Read why pets are so good for us.) A recent study in Applied Animal Behaviour Science reports that therapy dogs in pediatric cancer wards are not stressed by their…
Children raised in a rural environment, surrounded by animals and bacteria-laden dust, grow up to have more stress-resilient immune systems and might be at lower risk of mental illness than pet-free city dwellers.
The study, co-authored by researchers from the University of Ulm in Germany and CU Boulder, adds to mounting evidence supporting the “hygiene hypothesis,” which posits that overly sterile environments can breed health problems. Takeaways: Adult men who had grown up in the country with pets had a healthier immune response to stress than those who grew up…