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May 12, 2021 2:47 PM Erin Robinson
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PULLMAN, Wash. A new study from Washington State University shows that petting therapy dogs can enhance stressed students’ thinking skills and help with their planning skills.
Researchers found that traditional stress management approaches – like lectures by experts and other workshops – are not as effective for stressed students in comparison to programs that focus on providing opportunities for them to interact with therapy dogs.
The results came after researchers measured executive function in 309 students. Executive function is a term for the skills needed to plan, organize, motivate, concentrate and memorize.
In the three-year study, students were randomly assigned to one of three academic stress-management programs. They all featured varying combinations of human-animal interaction and all of the dogs and volunteer handlers were provided through Palouse Paws.
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May 13, 2021 by joeym
Regularly petting dogs can really help lower stress levels. Washington State University researchers found that stress management programs that utilized therapy dogs were most effective for struggling students. Specifically, students who completed a four-week-long program with animal therapy were found to have improved cognitive skills that persisted for at least four weeks. Human-animal interaction expert and study leader Patricia Pendry says, “This study shows that traditional stress management approaches aren’t as effective for this population as programs that focus on providing opportunities to interact with therapy dogs. […] The results were very strong. […] when you’re looking at the ability to study, engage, concentrate and take a test, then having the animal aspect is very powerful. Being calm is helpful for learning especially for those who struggle with stress and learning.” (Daily Mail)
The Therapeutic Tool That Works Better Than A Stress Management Program forbes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from forbes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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IMAGE: Enzo, a Labrador retriever and experienced therapy dog, enjoys some attention and relaxation during the WSU stress management study with students. view more
Credit: Washington State University
For college students under pressure, a dog may be the best stress fighter around.
Programs exclusively focused on petting therapy dogs improved stressed-out students thinking and planning skills more effectively than programs that included traditional stress-management information, according to new Washington State University research.
AERA Open, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association. The paper demonstrated that stressed students still exhibited these cognitive skills improvements up to six weeks after completion of the four-week-long program.
Spending time regularly petting a therapy dog can significantly reduce anxiety and enhance thinking skills in stressed-out students, an investigation has concluded.
Experts from Washington State University found that stress management programs focussed on therapy dogs were more effective for struggling students.
After completing a four-week-long program with animal therapy, students were found to have improved cognitive skills that persisted for at least four weeks.
The investigation was a follow-up to a 2019 study that showed that petting animals for just ten minutes could reduce students stress in the short-term.
Spending just ten minutes petting a dog (as pictured) can significantly reduce anxiety and enhance thinking skills in stressed-out students, an investigation has concluded