Summer is ending, but the routine, school, split shifts, after-school classes are starting... Do you lead a somewhat hectic life, rushing around, with many meetings, pending issues, and the feeling that you can't get everything done?
If you believe you live in a continuous state of stress, you should consult a specialist to help you relax and take the necessary measures to improve this situation. If you have a family and share your life with them, this type of life, your stress can be contagious.
Ultimately, the mood and emotional state between two or more individuals can be observed in different people or species. It can happen with your partner, your husband, even your children.
Can your stress affect your pet?
Lina S.V. Roth, professor of chemistry and biology at Linköping University, has conducted a study demonstrating that long-term owner stress has a direct effect on their pets.
To carry out the research, she studied 58 dogs and their respective owners. Both Roth and her assistants measured the concentration of cortisol in the hair of 33 Shetland sheepdogs and 25 Border Collies and their respective owners. The results showed that cortisol levels were very high in humans, but also increased equally in their pets.
“Short-term stress events appear contagious between dogs and owners. Hair cortisol concentrations allow us to study the potential synchronization of long-term stress,” they clarify in the study's introduction.
The research was conducted during the summer and winter, so scientists observed that seasonal periods do not affect the synchronization of stress that can occur between owners and their dogs.
In addition to examining the synchronization of stress between the two, they investigated the possible influence of personality traits between owners and dogs on stress levels. They discovered that the personality relationship between dogs and owners was not related to the level of cortisol in the hair, but certain personality traits were related to increased cortisol levels in dogs. "This suggests that dogs can reflect their owners' stress levels, but not vice versa," Lina explains.
Therefore, in times of stress, it is recommended to consult a specialist, as it is not only detrimental to your health, but also to the people around you and to your pet.