Pets and happiness: A new study

While many believe that having pets is amazing for well-being, a new study discovered something interesting.

The experiment found that even though pet owners said their fluffy friends made them happy, there wasn't a clear link between having pets and actually feeling better during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Let's find out more.

How it was detected

The specialists used different methods to study well-being indicators and asked individuals open-ended questions about how pets influenced their lives.

Pet owners shared that pets brought them joy, positive emotions, and companionship.

They also mentioned some challenges, like worrying about their pets and pets getting in the way of remote work.

Surprisingly, when comparing the happiness of pet owners and non-pet owners, there wasn't a noticeable difference in well-being over time.

It didn't matter what kind of pet individuals had, how many, or how close they were to their fluffy friends.

The personalities of the pet owners didn't play a role either.

It's important to know

The research suggests that while pets bring joy, they might not be as life-changing as some people believe.

One reason for this could be that non-pet owners find happiness in other aspects of their lives.
 

• Related news:
• research
• pets
• happiness
• 15 November 2023

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