A study by UK researchers shows that spending time with dogs can help reduce students’ stress levels. It is even better than doing exercises or meditation, reducing stress in both mainstream and special needs schools.

Stress negatively affects a child’s well-being and ability to study, so teachers have looked into many ways to help reduce stress. Through testing, studies have shown that having an animal in the classroom positively affects students’ mindsets.

Researchers from the University of Lincoln used the hormone cortisol in the student’s saliva to monitor their stress levels.

105 eight to nine-year-olds participated in this study. Scientists monitored the kids’ stress levels in three different sections. The sections consisted of people who actively played with dogs, children who did calming exercises such as meditation, and students who did neither.

The studies showed that the students who played with dogs had significantly less hormone cortisol in their saliva, showing that they were less stressed. This proves their idea of how playing with dogs reduces stress levels and could significantly help students in the future.