研究發現,吸貓擼狗有奇效,十分鐘就能顯著減壓!

Scientists have proved that petting cats and dogs for just ten minutes is an effective way to reduce stress levels.

科學家已證明，吸貓擼狗是一種減輕壓力的有效方式，而且只需十分鐘就能見效。

Scientists showed that the general well-being of students improves quickly, with even those who are highly stressed showing 'significant' reduction in cortisol levels - a chemical produced by our bodies in times of stress.

科學家指出，在吸貓擼狗後，學生們的整體幸福感都有了顯著改善，就連壓力很大的人皮質醇水平也“顯著”下降。皮質醇是人體在感受到壓力時分泌出的化學物質。

Many universities have adopted 'Pet Your Stress Away' programs where students can interact with cats or dogs and it appears to be paying dividends now.

許多大學都已經推行了“吸走你的壓力”計劃，讓學生們可以和貓狗互動，現在看來已經見到了回報。

The research, conducted by Washington State University, shows that pets improve students' moods and their presence has stress-relieving physiological benefits.

華盛頓州立大學開展的這項研究表明，寵物能改善學生的情緒，給學生減輕壓力，有益生理健康。

'Just 10 minutes can have a significant impact,' said Patricia Pendry, an associate professor in WSU's Department of Human Development.

華盛頓州立大學人類發展系的副教授帕特麗夏·彭德利說：“只需10分鐘就能有顯著影響。”

'Students in our study that interacted with cats and dogs had a significant reduction in cortisol, a major stress hormone.'

“在我們的研究中，與貓狗互動的學生皮質醇水平顯著下降，皮質醇是主要的壓力激素。”

This is the first study that has demonstrated reductions in students' cortisol levels during a real-life intervention.

這是首個在現實幹預過程中發現學生皮質醇水平下降的研究。

The team chose 249 college students and put them into four random groups and compared the effects of different exposures to animals.

研究團隊選擇了249名高校學生，將他們隨機分爲四組，讓各組用不同方式接觸動物，並將效果作對比。

The first group were provided 10 minutes of hands-on interaction with dogs and cats.

第一組有10分鐘時間與貓狗真實互動。

The second group waited in line while observing others petting the animals.

第二組在一旁排隊等候，觀察其他人吸貓擼狗。

The third group watched a slideshow of the same animals, while the fourth group was 'waitlisted.'

第三組觀看這些動物的幻燈片，第四組則被列入了等候者名單。

Salivary cortisol samples were collected from each participant starting from the moment they woke up in the morning.

參與者早上一睡醒，研究人員就開始從他們那裏收集唾液皮質醇樣本。

There were significantly less cortisol in the saliva of students who had direct interaction with the pets.

與寵物發生直接互動的學生唾液中的皮質醇水平明顯減少。

'We already knew that students enjoy interacting with animals, and that it helps them experience more positive emotions,' Dr Pendry said.

彭德利博士說：“我們已經知道，學生們喜歡和動物互動，這有助於他們體驗更積極的情感。”

'What we wanted to learn was whether this exposure would help students reduce their stress in a less subjective way.

“我們想知道這種接觸是否能以一種比較客觀的方式幫學生減輕壓力。”

'And it did, which is exciting because the reduction of stress hormones may, over time, have significant benefits for physical and mental health.'

“結果如我們所願，這很讓人興奮，因爲降低壓力激素長遠來看會給身體和心理健康帶來巨大的好處。”

The findings were published in the journal American Educational Research Association.

該研究結果發表在《美國教育研究協會》期刊上。