Importance of pets to older adults
Ageing is an inevitable phase in the lifecycle of mankind. During this process, some people lose love ones, go on retirement and also have to deal with the changes that occur in the body. Keeping a pet is one of the sure ways of dealing with the challenges of old age. This article will be discussing the importance of pets to older adults.
Keeping a pet in your old age ensures that you have some level of busy daily routine. In your old age, you may be on pension therefore lose some of the things that kept you busy at work. Your children may have left your house to their own homes or matrimonial homes. Keeping a pet will ensure that you go for regular walks which exercises your body. Moreover, taking care of the pet such as feeding it and visiting the pet doctor are ways of keeping you active. All these activities impact positively on the immune system leading to good health. Research has documented that alertness of older people are improved when they keep pets.
Once an older adult is active due to his or her pet, depression is managed well because the older adult has the opportunity to play and have some fun with the pet. Meeting others during walks and talking about the pet generates some level of interest and happiness in older people.
The last importance of pets to older adults is that, one is able to keep connected socially. Your regular chats with other pet owners during walks build new relationships. At this age, you may have moved to a new location; may have lost some close friends; and may be having some health problems. Connecting socially and having regular chats breaks that condition of loneliness.
