Looking At Cute Animal Pics Is Good For Your Brain, Science Proves

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  We live in stressful times. Every day, a new catastrophe occurs, and it seems like bad news is becoming more frequent and worse than before. Climate change, increasingly absurd politics, a quickly narrowing job market, university debt, the struggles of trying to earn enough money to survive, be creative, successful, and have a social life at the same time. The list goes on. Boomers love to talk about how the young people today have it easy, but we disagree. There are many studies that prove millennials and Gen Zers have it harder than the boomers did. So yes, the stress is real. 

  
  

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  But don't fret, because we have the perfect thing to make you feel calm. No, it's not meditation, an hour of yoga, an essential oil bath or a session of reiki - we know how real life really works. You probably already do it already, and you probably feel like you're not being productive when you do it. We're talking about looking at pictures of cute baby animals online, and contrary to what you believed, it's actually good for your brain and body. Even better than porn or reading. Surprising, right? 

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  via Just Something

  This isn't actually new information. Humans are attracted to cute things, whether it's animals or human babies, and we feel calmer and happier after looking at them. This is explained by something called the "baby schema," a concept created by Konrad Lorenz, an Austrian ethologist. 

  The baby schema suggests that humans have evolved to be drawn towards things that look like babies, which generally have the following traits: big eyes, big heads, large foreheads and chubby cheeks. This pleasure that early humans got from looking at babies made them more likely to protect and look after their offspring. 

  Somewhere along the way, animals, especially baby animals, which typically have the features mentioned above, came to be included in list of things that make humans feel warm and fuzzy inside.

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  A researcher at Penn State University found that looking at videos or pictures of baby humans and animals elicits the same feelings that we get when seeing something cute in real life. 

  "Viewing images or videos of cute creatures likely elicits similar feelings and motivations in people as our brains are not great at differentiating between mediated and real-life situations," Jessica Gall Myrick told Medium. "In my study of responses to cat videos, many of which likely contain cute content, people reported experiencing greater positive emotions and more energy after viewing them than before, alongside a corresponding decrease in negative feelings."

  Another study found that people came to associate cute photos with positive feelings, and learned to expect these positive feelings from the same activity in the future, compounding the impact. 

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  The Japanese even have a word for the category of things that make us say "aww": kawaii (which translates roughly to 'cute'). There are two benefits from looking at pictures of kawaii things: firstly, it distracts our brains from stressful or boring situations, and secondly, it reminds us of warm, happy feelings (which most of us are lacking). 

  There are many activities that achieve one of the two categories: for example, porn distracts us from the moment, but may not necessarily make us feel happy. Watching a heart-warming movie will make you feel good, but only after a few hours of watching it. Cat videos, or kawaii pictures, on the other hand, have instantaneous results. 

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  Pictures or videos of cute animals may also benefit couples, not just the individual. A 2017 study found that the warm feelings couples have when watching cute videos together can be associated with the partner, rather than the video. That means that you'll feel all warm and fuzzy when thinking about your loved one. 

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  via Just Something

  Need we say any more? There are multiple studies and conclusive evidence that prove that looking at pictures or videos of cute animals is beneficial for your mental health, and therefore overall health. In an era of constant news updates, voyeurism into our friends' perfect (curated) lives, pressure to be creative all the time, financial hardships, and the ridiculous cost of avocado toast, you probably need a break. So here you go, have one. 

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