Monday Wellness Reflection

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UR1vzY_YsY7XpSPpRo1RU1pTqrnbz4WGp6l0rRwUcQs/edit#slide=id.p
    
My group and I chose this topic because we all own dogs and believed that they have a major role in helping people. We wanted to know more about therapy dogs and what they did that made them so special and able to aid people with disabilities and such. I personally love all animals and go to either my cat or my dog when I am having a bad day. They are always happy to cuddle. I also believe that one reason why people love animals is because they don't judge you and they listen to you.

Something that was very  interesting to know was that that they could help with stress, social skills, and know exactly when someone with something like bipolar disorder or seizures might have an episode. Many people with PTSD also own dogs. I didn't understand at first why an animal could help with that but then by researching, I realized that at least with people who have PTSD, they weren't able to focus much on their flashbacks because the animal demanded constant attention. From research, we found out that just by owning a dog, symptoms were reduced by up to 82%. These results are amazing considering it is not medication, but a living thing that can aid in recovery. They help with stress by lowering the blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It was also very cool to research the animal assisted therapy on patients with autism because having the responsibility of holding a leash, or throwing a ball for the animal can propel the child into cognitive function and ability. The child is also able to gain self confidence and self-awareness from being in the presence of an animal. Also, having a dog in the household can reduce related allergies by up to 33%. Pets can boost immune system, confidence levels, and provide companionship to combat loneliness.

This topic is important for health and wellness because it shows that animals aid a lot in overall health benefits by keeping your cholesterol and blood pressure levels down as well as improve cognitive abilities in people with disabilities. Animals, especially dogs, can improve someone's health and well being dramatically just by being in their presence. Reduced amounts of stress can lead to more healthy lifestyle because you can get more work done and your body can be more relaxed.

I would grade our project at an 8 because we put a lot of time and energy into it. It was kind of difficult to find how dogs exactly helped with reducing stress levels other than to just say that being around them was enough. There weren't that many studies done on why that is, but we liked and enjoyed learning about what was discovered about it. I would dock the points because out overall project was a little bit short and we didn't have the best activity to go along with it.