Awwesome Health Benefits Of Looking At Cute Animal Pictures
Congratulations! If you're an avid user of our website, you haven't only been procrastinating by watching cute animal pictures and reading heartwarming stories, you've also apparently been working on improving your health. A new study by the University of Leeds and Tourism Western Australia shows that looking at cute animals has real health benefits, including lowered stress levels and blood pressure.
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Well, now you have a proper reason to give your parents or coworkers for why you spend so long every day watching cute animal videos. As Green Matters reports, the University of Leeds and Tourism Western Australia got together to "conduct a study that explores the correlation between stress relief and cute animals," and the results are truly amazing. As Elen Thomas, the U.K. Market Manager for Tourism Western Australia, said: "The study results are a fantastic reminder that we benefit massively from exploring and enjoying the natural world."
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The study involved 19 participants: "15 students who were preparing for an exam, as well as four stressed out members of school staff." They were asked to look at images and watch videos of cute animals for 30 minutes, which really seems like no time at all to us. One of the animals they looked at was the quokka who's considered the happiest animal on earth.
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After watching the videos, multiple things happened. The anxiety levels of the participants lowered by over 35%. Also, everyone's heart rates were lowered. On average, the participants' heart rates "decreased by 6.5 percent, one student's heart rate had fallen from 90 BPM to 68 BPM, which means it dropped by a whopping 22 percent." In addition to that, there was a huge drop in the participants' blood pressure which "decreased from a 136/88 average to 115/71 during the 30 minutes."
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"It was clear that students were anxious ahead of their exams, with heart rates and blood pressure for most participants mildly elevated before our session took place... Throughout the course of the session, heart rates and blood pressure fell across all individuals to a level that would be considered healthy and indicative of limited stress or anxiety," said Dr. Andrea Utley.
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It truly is amazing the effect that watching cute little animals can have on our mental and physical health, and honestly, from our experience of finding the cutest animals for you daily, we can say that the results are... not that surprising. We always hope to bring you some joy with the content that we create. So knowing that it might be positively affecting your health is really just the cherry on top. And on that note, here's a collection of cute cats to lower your blood pressure.
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