Media Consumption Causes Stress, Pet a Dog
A new survey of 1,005 American adults, where data was collected from Mar 21-24, 2025, revealed that consuming the news or social media causes daily stress for 16%, and weekly stress for 45% of study participants. The good news is that 93% of participants reported that they take some kind of action to reduce their stress.
Prior research has established that interacting with a friendly dog can lower stress levels. A new study investigated stress levels in college students after a 15-minute interaction with a dog. The 6 dogs in the study were not therapy dogs, they were outgoing pets that were friendly toward strangers.
Researchers collected heart rate, blood pressure, and salivary cortisol (stress hormone) levels from 122 college students in Thailand who reported moderate to high stress levels. Data was collected at 3 points in time:
T1: Participants took stress assessments, and their heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol samples were taken, followed by a 15-minute rest period;
T2: During the anticipation period right before the dog interaction, stress assessments, heart rate, and blood pressure were taken, and then participants learned the dog’s names, personality traits, and their preferred interactions (petting/hugging, playing, treats, etc);
Students interacted with one dog for 15 minutes; and
T3: Participants took stress assessments, and their heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol samples were taken.
This research revealed:
Stress levels decreased between T1 and T2, indicating that the anticipation of getting to interact with a dog and/or learning introductory information about the dog was stress reducing.
After interacting with a dog, self-reported stress levels decreased by 33.5% .
Interacting with a dog caused a significant reduction in two physiological stress markers. Heart rates and cortisol levels were significantly lower in the students after the dog interaction.
Takeaway: Consuming the news and social media increases stress. Interacting with a dog reduces stress. Consider reducing news and social media, and increasing stress reduction methods, such as spending time with a dog.
Well-being is a journey, not a quick fix.
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Sources
Eileen Scahill, Nearly Half of U.S. Adults Report Weekly Stress from News - Neuroscience News, Apr 14, 2025.
Eric Ralls, Petting a dog is the easiest way to reduce stress without meds - Earth.com
Saengduean Yotanyamaneewong, The impact of canine-assisted intervention on stress reduction among university students in Thailand | PLOS One, Mar. 12, 2025.
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