Science finds watching cute animals good for health
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Wednesday
July 06, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
WEDNESDAY, JULY 06, 2022
Science finds watching cute animals good for health

Offbeat

TBS Report
28 September, 2020, 04:45 pm
Last modified: 28 September, 2020, 04:59 pm

Related News

  • 3 endangered Capped Langurs rescued from MP Kazi Firoz Rashid's farmhouse
  • Doctor Koi receives a $0.5m seed fund
  • No novelty in budget allocation for health sector
  • Tk36,863 crore allocation proposed for health sector
  • Nepal reports first African swine fever outbreak, OIE says

Science finds watching cute animals good for health

When questioning the participants, the study found that most preferred video clips over still images, particularly of animals interacting with humans

TBS Report
28 September, 2020, 04:45 pm
Last modified: 28 September, 2020, 04:59 pm
Some adorable kittens. Photo: Collected from CNN website
Some adorable kittens. Photo: Collected from CNN website

Being delighted by watching cute animals like puppies and kittens is common human behaviour. Now science presents evidence supporting the feelings for animals.

A study jointly conducted by the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom and the Western Australia Tourism has found evidence that watching cute animals may help a reduction in stress and anxiety, reports CNN.

The study examined how blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety are affected by watching images and videos of cute animals for 30 minutes.

Dr Andrea Utley, an associate professor at the University of Leeds, put together the 30-minute montage of the cute critters.

"There were some kittens, there were puppies, there were baby gorillas. There were quokkas. You know -- the usual stuff that you would expect," Utley told CNN.

The quokka, an adorable creature found in Western Australia, is often referred to as "the world's happiest animal."

The sessions, conducted in December 2019, involved 19 subjects -- 15 students and four staff -- and was intentionally timed during winter exams, a time when stress is at a significantly high level, particularly for medical students, according to Utley.

In all cases, the study saw blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety go down in participants, 30 minutes after watching the video.

The study recorded that average blood pressure dropped from 136/88 to 115/71 -- which the study pointed out is "within ideal blood pressure range." Average heart rates were lowered to 67.4 bpm, a reduction of 6.5%.

Anxiety rates also went down by 35%, measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a self-assessment method often used in clinical settings to diagnose anxiety, according to the American Psychological Association.

"I was quite pleasantly surprised that during the session, every single measure for every single participant dropped some -- heart rate reduced, blood pressure reduced," Utley said. "When they left, they filled the questionnaire in again and indicated that they were feeling less anxious."

When questioning the participants, the study found that most preferred video clips over still images, particularly of animals interacting with humans.

Utley hoped to conducted eight sessions in total but was forced to postpone due to coronavirus restrictions. She acknowledges it'll likely not be until next year that more sessions can be conducted in person. Until then, she's exploring online options to keep the study going.

Top News

science / cute / animals / health

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Photo: TBS
    Probe committee finds owners, management authority of BM Depot to be ‘negligent’
  • FBCCI for electricity rationing to keep production uninterrupted
    FBCCI for electricity rationing to keep production uninterrupted
  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, Britain July 6, 2022. Photo: Reuters
    UK ministers, including new finmin, to tell Johnson to go

MOST VIEWED

  • House that inspired 'The Conjuring' sells for over $1.5 million
    House that inspired 'The Conjuring' sells for over $1.5 million
  • Shahzeb Anwer. Picture: Collected
    Pakistani man goes to US for surgery, ends up inviting whole city to his wedding
  • An unspecified private buyer acquired The Rock, for which the pre-auction estimate was between 19 million and 30 million francs.(AP)
    Egg-sized diamond fetches over $21 Million with fees at Geneva sale
  • Photo: Collected
    Ex US police officer disguises as wedding guest to steal gifts
  • Indian start-up announces 'Right to Nap', employees can sleep for 30 minutes at work
    Indian start-up announces 'Right to Nap', employees can sleep for 30 minutes at work
  • A rare 1736 violin by Italian luthier Guarneri del Gesu is displayed during a media preview at Aguttes auction house ahead of the violin's auction in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, France, April 26, 2022. Picture taken April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
    A 'da Vinci of violins' goes up for auction in France

Related News

  • 3 endangered Capped Langurs rescued from MP Kazi Firoz Rashid's farmhouse
  • Doctor Koi receives a $0.5m seed fund
  • No novelty in budget allocation for health sector
  • Tk36,863 crore allocation proposed for health sector
  • Nepal reports first African swine fever outbreak, OIE says

Features

The sea beach in Kuakata. Photo: Syed Mehedy Hasan

Five places in Southern Bangladesh you could visit via Padma Bridge

11h | Explorer
Genex Infosys Limited is the country's largest call centre with more than 2,000 seats and full-set equipment. Photo: Courtesy

How domestic demand made Genex Infosys a BPO industry leader

12h | Panorama
The OPEC+ group of 23 oil-exporting countries met virtually on Thursday. Photo: Bloomberg

OPEC+ did its job, but don’t expect it to disappear

1d | Panorama
Mirza Abdul Kader Sardar with AK Fazlul Haque, Chief Minister of Bengal, at Haque's reception at the Lion Cinema, Dhaka, 1941. Photo: Collected

Panchayats: Where tradition clings to survival

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Behind the story of 'Aske Amar Mon Bhalo Nei'

Behind the story of 'Aske Amar Mon Bhalo Nei'

39m | Videos
Is Donbas Putin’s next target?

Is Donbas Putin’s next target?

3h | Videos
Hajj Journey: it took more than one year to complete the Hajj

Hajj Journey: it took more than one year to complete the Hajj

5h | Videos
Photo: TBS

Cristiano Ronaldo looking for a new challenge

10h | Videos

Most Read

1
Photo: Collected
Africa

Uganda discovers gold deposits worth 12 trillion USD

2
TBS Illustration
Education

Universities may launch online classes again after Eid

3
Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'
Splash

Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'

4
Build Dhaka East-West Elevated Expressway, relocate kitchen markets: PM
Bangladesh

Build Dhaka East-West Elevated Expressway, relocate kitchen markets: PM

5
File Photo: BSS
Energy

India pulls out of LoC funding for part of Rooppur power transmission work

6
Illustration: TBS
Interviews

‘No Bangladeshi company has the business model for exporting agricultural product’

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
A customer checks a knife at a blacksmith’s shop at the capital’s Karwan Bazar. Knives and other Qurbani tools are in huge demand as the country prepares to celebrate Eid-Ul-Azha. Photo: Rajib Dhar

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net