Sorry, Fido: New study reveals getting a pet isn’t the cure to loneliness — and sometimes makes things worse

Turns retired that a furry friend mightiness not beryllium nan reply to a ruff life.

Canine companionship has agelong been touted arsenic a remedy for group seeking comfortableness and connection, peculiarly erstwhile pandemic-era lockdowns kept millions apart.

But new research suggests that moreover successful times of utmost societal isolation, having a pet doesn’t ever amended well-being — and sometimes, it makes it worse.

Researchers astatine Eötvös Loránd University successful Budapest analyzed information from astir 3,000 Hungarians, collected complete respective months successful 2020.

Among nan participants, 65 acquired a pet while 75 mislaid one, prompting nan squad to analyse really these changes affected their well-being complete time.

The results? Not precisely tail-wagging.

Researchers recovered caller pet owners knowledgeable a short-lived boost successful cheerfulness aft bringing a canine location — but that first precocious didn’t last.

Over time, their calmness, life satisfaction, cheerfulness and activity levels dropped.

“What amazed maine astir was that caller pet successful nan family had nary effect connected nan respondents’ loneliness,” Judit Mokos, a information intelligence and 1 of nan paper’s first authors, said successful a statement.  

“Our investigation suggests that dogs do not supply a existent solution to loneliness; rather, they make nan caller owners much anxious.”

Even much surprising: losing a pet didn’t impact nan well-being of their erstwhile owners.

“It appears that, astatine slightest during stressful periods, nan mean person, who whitethorn not beryllium nan superior caregiver but simply shares a family pinch nan pet, is not importantly affected by nan pet’s loss, nor is their well-being a beardown predictor of nan determination to get one,” said Ádám Miklósi, who initiated nan information postulation connected companion animals.

These findings formed uncertainty connected earlier studies suggesting canine ownership offers a wide scope of wellness benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety, building societal connections, increasing beingness activity and lowering humor pressure and cholesterol.

“Based connected nan data, astir group surviving together pinch a companion animal do not look to acquisition immoderate semipermanent ‘pet effect,’ nor do they enslaved powerfully pinch their animal,” said Eniko Kubinyi, caput of nan MTA-ELTE “Momentum” Companion Animals Research Group. 

“It is imaginable that nan dynamics of nan pandemic person led galore to make impulsive choices against their semipermanent interest, aliases that only definite groups — for illustration devoted animal lovers aliases older adults surviving unsocial — genuinely use from pets successful stressful times,” she added. 

The loneliness epidemic

Loneliness became a bigger problem during nan coronavirus pandemic, but studies suggest half of American adults had already knowledgeable it earlier nan outbreak.

And nan societal fallout didn’t extremity erstwhile lockdowns did. Research shows that galore people, particularly teens, young adults and seniors, continued to walk much clip astatine location and little clip socializing than earlier nan nationalist wellness crisis.

In fact, a 2024 study by nan American Psychiatric Association recovered that 30% of adults felt lonely astatine slightest erstwhile a week past year, pinch 10% battling loneliness each azygous day.

That’s a bigger problem than galore realize. Studies show chronic loneliness tin summation nan consequence of premature decease arsenic overmuch as 15 cigarettes a day.

It’s linked to heart disease, stroke, cognitive decline, inflammation and a weakened immune system. Loneliness is besides powerfully associated pinch depression, anxiety, accent and debased self-esteem.

In 2023, then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared that “loneliness, isolation and deficiency of relationship successful our country” are an “epidemic” and a “public wellness crisis.”

At past year’s Aspen Ideas Festival, Murthy shared 3 elemental regular actions to thief Americans rebuild their societal connections.

First, walk 15 minutes each time reaching retired to personification you attraction about.

“We person built this taste communicative complete nan years that occurrence is astir being independent and being independent is astir not needing anyone,” Murthy said. “That is thing we fundamentally person to change.”

Second, erstwhile you’re pinch others, shelve distractions and springiness your afloat attention.

“Five minutes of being afloat coming pinch personification successful speech is much powerful than 30 minutes of distracted conversation,” he explained. 

Finally, make regular acts of work a priority.

“Service is simply a very powerful antidote to loneliness, because it not only helps america link — whether it’s successful nan enactment of helping 1 personification aliases helping a organization — but it reminds america that we person worth to bring to nan world,” Murthy said.