Watching cute animals can reduce stress levels by 50%  |  Photo Credit: Representative Image
There are millions of cute animal pictures and videos on social media now. Every day, thousands of content creators around the world share something new to keep their audience engaged.
Animal videos are one such content that is watched by social media users from all parts of the world. Fair to say, it’s one of the most-watched contents on the internet.
But no matter how many videos of cute dogs and cats we watch, we still can’t get enough of them. It’s a habit that only grows over a period of time.
But is the habit healthy?
A new study has revealed that watching these cuties can help reduce your stress levels by 50%.
The study, which was led by the University of Leeds and Tourism Western Australia, saw participants watching videos of Western Australia’s quokkas for 30 minutes. As many as 19 participants watched the animal, which is known as the ‘happiest animal in the world’.
The findings of the study showed that stress levels of some participants dropped by almost 50 percent after watching the videos. Even blood pressure dropped from high to healthy readings for some.
Fifteen out of the 19 individuals who participated were due to take an exam 90 minutes after the session. The remaining four, who were academic support staff, said they were feeling stressed at work.
During the study, the participants’ heart rate and blood pressure were monitored to check the psychological impact of watching content.
When the watching session was over, results revealed that the average group blood pressure fell from 136/88 to 115/71. As for one participant, his heart rate fell from 90bpm to 68 bpm.
That’s not all.
Anxiety levels within the group reduced by an average of 35 percent and 50 percent for some individuals.
Dr Andrea Utley, a researcher involved in the study, said that the student participants were anxious ahead of their exams. “Indeed, in some individuals, heart rate and blood pressure were even higher, indicating a higher level of stress for those participants. 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,” she said.
