How Pets Can Help Alzheimer’s Patients

While pets bring companionship, fun and love into any individual’s life, they can be extremely beneficial to a person battling Alzheimer’s disease. The presence of a pet can help reduce anxiety, agitation, irritability, depression and loneliness in an Alzheimer’s patient, while also helping them become more socially interactive. Pets such as dogs can also increase the motivation for an Alzheimer’s patient to exercise, as dogs need to be walked and taken-out regularly. Additionally, if Alzheimer’s is fairly advanced in an individual, a service animal can be very beneficial and can help them complete everyday tasks that they would be unable to perform on their own. Additionally, pets have been linked to health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, reducing heart rate, decreasing levels of cortisol (the stress-hormone), and boosting level of serotonin (the mood-boosting hormone).