The unexpected benefits of having pets in the big city.

Researchers provide new arguments about the beneficial effects of having pets in our urban apartments.

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Pavel Lisitsin / Sputnik

A study carried out by scientists from the German University of Ulm and the University of Colorado, in the USA, concludes that domestic animals can reduce the harmful effects caused by large cities, affected by permanent stress and Increasing incidence of mental disorders.

The results of the research were published on the website of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The experiment involved 40 Germans between 20 and 40 years old, half of whom grew up in the countryside surrounded by animals, while the rest were people from the city and had no permanent contact with them.

All of them were asked to solve a simple mathematical problem and to study their reaction, the scientists took samples of the blood and saliva from the subjects 5 minutes before and also 15, 60, 90 and 120 minutes later.

And it turned out that the reaction of the organism of people who had permanent contact with animals, was calmer.

The specialists are sure that the microorganisms that transmit domestic animals to their owners make the human body better cope with stress, since under the influence of bacteria the immune system can reach a balance in anti-inflammatory processes.

In this way, stress can be reduced, preventing the risk of allergy development, as well as mental disorders.