In recent times, much attention has been devoted to the belief that keeping a dog, a cat, a parrot can benefit the owner’s health in multiple ways. It reduces  the risk of heart disease, reducing loneliness, dementia and depression. About half of the households in Britain alone include some kind of pet; roughly 10m of those are dogs while cats make up another 10m. Pets cost time and money and nowadays bring little in the way of material benefits. But during the 2008 financial crisis, spending on pets remained almost unaffected, which suggests that for most owners’ pets are not a luxury but an integral and deeply loved part of the family.

Recent research supports the idea that animals are conscious beings. And some of them such as dogs, dolphins, monkeys, and elephants can experience a range of emotions typically associated with humans, such as fear, compassion, happiness, respect, or joy, and display empathy towards humans and other animals. They can also sense the differences in behaviour both physically and psychologically due to an illness. It’s been known that both dogs and cats have saved many lives by recognizing and identifying the scent of human illness through the scent of chemical changes.

Sharing your life with a loyal companion animal brings a lot of joy. Their love is unconditional, and they do more than just keep you company. So, what are the benefits of the human-animal bond? Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings and emotions of others and be compassionate toward them. Humans have empathy toward other humans and animals. And animals are more empathetic and loving towards humans. They are selfless and affectionate than humans. 

In comparison among animals, dogs are known to be protective and attentive to their owners, and this can include guarding them when they are unwell, often seen as a natural extension of their mentality and desire to protect vulnerable members. I was unwell for six months and had to take rest the whole day. My pet, Momo used to not even get up, he  used to sit near my bed. Through his eyes and expressions, he used to assure me that I would get well soon, if I would get up to use the washroom, he would follow me and sit outside the washroom. He was a huge German shepherd. After a while he used to sleep at my feet, rubbing my feet with his face, which used to give me a sense of warmth, and a sense of security.  I have experienced that German Shepherds are generally friendly and loving with their families, but their protective nature can make them reserved or watchful of strangers. He used to communicate with me through a combination of barks, body language, and facial expressions, especially his eyes, to convey his emotions. 

Research has shown that dogs can read the emotional state of their owners and respond to it in the same way as a human would. That means that your dog really cares when you are unhappy and wants to help, providing sympathy and comfort. Dogs are known to be highly adjusted to their owners’ health and can sense changes in their well-being, including illness, through subtle cues like changes in scent and behaviour. 

Some people aren’t pet friendly. Why is this the case? It is highly probable that our desire for the company of animals goes back tens of thousands of years and has played an important part in our evolution. If so, then genetics might help explain why a love of animals is something some people just don’t get. No matter your mood, you must care for your pet. Pets motivate us to be active. Taking your dog for a walk or a run helps you increase physical activity and meet your daily exercise requirements.

Psychologists explain that our attitude towards animals is influenced by many possible contributing factors, such as socio-cultural norms, religious beliefs, personality traits, and early life experiences. Researchers also suggest that compassion for animals may be linked to genetic differences. A study revealed that people who love animals have a specific version of the gene that produces the love hormone oxytocin, which is important for empathy between humans and boosts social bonding. So, oxytocin helps people bond with animals too, and animal lovers are friendlier people and have more empathy. Pet-lovers teat their pets as their child. Pets are entirely dependent on people, so they trigger the same protective instincts as our own kids do. We love animals and want to protect them because we view them as innocent creatures that cannot help themselves when they are in trouble.

We love our pets deeply, and we really want them to be happy. Our love for pets is revolutionary because it represents our closest ties to another species. We do not care about things regarding the species that they belong to. At times we prioritize pets over people. Many people talk to their pets, and it’s natural. And in addition to being a conversational partner, pets can help you maintain your emotional stability. They fulfil the basic human need for touch and provide emotional comfort by reducing the effects of the things that stress you. I conclude my passage by stating that my German Shepard friend, Momo taught me to be mindful, he taught to live in the moment. I miss him every day and I honour his memory.  

Social scientists have shown in many studies for past few decades that caring touch can have good effects in several different mental and physical problems. Consider this case: a doctor hugged his patient who survived a complicated surgery of six hours; when the patient regained his consciousness after surgery, the doctor felt so happy, he gave the patient a gentle hug.   

A hug is a universal and widely accepted ways to show our affection and love. It communicates many emotions that words fail to express. There are different types of hugs that express different emotions. When you feel low, angry, distressed, or sad, a quick squeeze or hug is all you need to lift your mood.

Hugging helps lower our stress throughout the day. Hugging a person is one of the most natural and emotional physical touches one can have with others. It gives us a sense of security and makes us feel loved and cared for. There are many different types of hugs one can coddle in; few are romantic while others are just friendly, they are emotional and supportive. For example, a side hug is friendly; hugging from behind portrays intimacy; in a friendly hug two people engage in arm-hug; hugging around the waist is romantic; a bear hug is for warmth; one-sided hug shows caring.  And there are many unseen benefits of hugging; the biggest is boosting of dopamine hormone which is ‘feel good’ hormone and in case of loving hug, oxytocin hormone boosts feeling of love.

Research shows that hugs can be healthy. Hugs cause a decrease in the release of cortisol, a stress hormone, and another research indicates that hugs decrease our blood pressure and heart rate in stressful situations. The stress-reducing effects of hugging keeps us healthier. In a study of over 400 adults, researchers found that hugging reduces the percentage of falling sick. From childhood to old age people who are hugged by near and dear ones stay healthy.

According to one study, it takes merely 7 seconds of a hug for our brain to signal the release of oxytocin hormone that is associated with, amongst other things, increased levels of trust, calmness, and creativity. Hugging often creates a feeling of calmness and relaxation. That’s because of oxytocin which is sometimes called the “cuddle hormone.” Oxytocin is released when people or pets snuggle up or bond socially. This release can have a domino effect throughout the body and has been found to reduce inflammation, improve wound healing, it lessens cravings for drugs, alcohol, and sweets and lowers heart rate and stress. Domino effect is a situation in which one event causes a series of related events, one following another.

Getting a firm, reassuring hug before or during a stressful event, such as waiting to receive the results of a medical test, waiting for an examination result, waiting to receive a near and dear one at station, can help you stay calm because your oxytocin levels remain elevated.  A hug a day may, in fact, keep the doctor away.

They make us happier. An assuring hug is much better than gulping anti-depressants. Hugging triggers the release of serotonin in the brain to create happiness and ease sadness.  They Help deepen our relationships. As human, we automatically want to hug those we know are in pain. In many ways, hugs are a form of meditation. They allow us to be present in the moment, to let go and flow with the energy of the embrace. It’s easy to forget how meaningful a hug can be, but it can truly deepen your connection with another person. Hugs convey, in a nonverbal way, an understanding of each other.

Humans and dogs have been together since primitive times, and both have a primal need for physical touch. All monkeys, from chimpanzees to Japanese macaques (snow monkeys) to humans, are hard-wired to console others and transmit affection by hugging. Even a reptile, a hen, and a fish look enjoy some human affection. Bears, koalas, deer, elephant, and even birds such as parrots, crows, pigeons, sparrows, peacocks love human touch. Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose showed that plants can experience sensations and feel pleasure and pain. Like birds and animals, plants also respond to human touch.  

Don’t underestimate the healing power of a hug. Just as we exercise to stay in shape and diet to stay healthy, we should make the effort to stay connected to the people. We can never get enough hugs. They are priceless gifts of unconditional love because a hug communicates a thousand words.

“Telling stories is as basic to human beings as eating and drinking; more so, in fact, while food makes us live, stories make our lives more worth living”. Richard Kearney

Stories are an integral part of our lives and it has no age limit; as children we heard stories from our parents, grandparents, teachers which were like fairy tales, morale boosting stories. And in our adult hood as per the stage in lifecycle our interest for themes of stories kept changing. Stories form an essential part of our lives, we need them regularly. One of the most consequential and enjoyable aspects of our lives is that we spent time listening to with stories, primarily in novel form, reading about events and people who interest us.

Why do we watch movies? We watch movies and television serials to watch stories. They are so necessary because they serve so many critical functions that enable us to survive and thrive as humans, all at once. Through stories, we share passions, fears, sadness, hardships, and joys, and we find common ground with characters woven in them. We connect with those characters/protagonists in stories mentally and sometimes in real life stories we communicate, get friendly with the characters that are like us.

Stories are universal, conveying meaning and purpose that help us understand ourselves better and find commonality with others. There is a scientific explanation for our love of stories: when we hear a story that resonates with us, our levels of a hormone called oxytocin increase and this hormone is a “feel good” hormone.

We must listen to stories especially during bedtime to escape the humdrum, routine and boring nature of life. The routine nature bores us we all look up for some significant events in life.  A story disintegrates the everyday events, releasing out the boring bits. Through story, we can imagine being somebody else or going in a different world of fantasies, without taking on the risks or expense ourselves. We can even do the impossible, like travel through time or explore the universe.

And believe me; this escape factor makes stories highly entertaining. They pass the time. They are fun. The fun factor enables stories to fulfil their other functions. One of the most basic functions of the story is to teach. We use stories also to quickly and easily learn facts. As a Professor, I always give business examples to my students of MBA in form of stories and it works wonders. Research shows that we retain facts more readily if they are related in narrative form. Stories teach us how to be, what to be, where to be.

Human culture has evolved and bosomed via storytelling. Through stories, we communicate to our children and others how to behave, how to take decisions, values of life etc.  Stories preserve our own history and culture, passing it along in a form that is easy to remember to the next generation. We use stories not only to learn but also to speculate, to pose questions and then find solutions.

Story tellers have stretched our imaginations beyond mind’s eye, we have made contact with aliens, we have gone into different space, and we have disappeared through time machine and what not. Stories help us explore all the possibilities. Stories help us understand hypothetical situation as well. When we tell stories about ourselves, we are imagining all our possible futures and, we hope, helping ourselves choose the best ones.

Beyond just speculation about what might happen, we use stories to answer the great unanswerable questions. Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? What does it mean to be human? Stories bring order and meaning to the chaos and unpredictability of life. A story always has a beginning, middle and end, which is very satisfying to us, since we don’t know how our own personal story will end. And our lives are really a search for our own story.

Psychologists say that bedtime stories work wonders for adults too as they create a new sleep onset association. Many people listen to audio books. It is really helpful, as you don’t realise when you go off to sleep. But make sure to set a timer so it doesn’t keep playing all night. The hormones oxytocin and serotonin secrete well while listening to stories because of mood stimulation. And, if you are good story teller you can help the seniors in house to fall asleep easily by telling them good bedtime stories.

A good night’s sleep is essential for our well being and our health, but in our busy lives sleep is often poor and overlooked. Now is the time to stop a while and find comfort and wonder in other worlds where all is well and sleep just a stance/a page/ a pause away.