The Upper Paw: August 2014

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Puppy Power: Health Benefits of Viewing Animal Pictures and Videos

Today's world is 24/7, with a constant expectation for us to be accessible and responsive. This is true in both our personal and professional lives. It does not matter if you are answering work emails or watching TV while simultaneously texting your friends; our minds crave and have adapted to constant stimulation. With all of the craziness that goes on in our daily lives; many of us eventually experience "burn out". This mental exhaustion results in many of us striving to find balance and to maintain a sense of calm throughout the day-to-day 'storm'. Queue the health and wellness gurus! Common relaxation strategies may be yoga, meditation, spending time with family and friends, and of course, your dog!

In our last post, we featured Bristol and the amazing health and healing benefits that come from spending time with a canine pal. Today, we are going to introduce exciting evidence that demonstrates how looking at pictures of baby animals and watching those adorable puppy videos reduces stress and promotes mental concentration. Who knew?!

Naturally, viewing pictures and watching videos of cute and cuddly animals makes us smile and gives us happy feelings. According to a group of scientists at Hiroshima University, they can also improve our levels of concentration. In a series of experiments, researchers showed that people who viewed pictures of puppies and kittens had higher performance scores and were quicker in completing a series of tasks, conducted for purposes of the experiment, than those that had not viewed the baby animals. This is affectionately called the "Power of Kawaii", which means "cute" in Japanese.

So, to help you smile, relax, and become more productive, we have put together a video compilation of some adorable videos!