Some researches have finally cleared the air: talking to your pet doesn’t make you crazy. In fact, it might help save your life.
Loneliness is as dangerous to one’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, making it on par with obesity. However, Nancy Gee, a human-animal interaction research manager at Mars’ Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, says talking about your pets and showing photos of them to other people is a normal and healthy behavior.
“When we think about loneliness, we need attachment figures and pets meet that need,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about confidentiality or judgment. It just is what it is.”
Although it remains to be seen whether pets literally improve your physical and mental health or if healthy people are just more likely to be pet owners, it’s “worth investing in the research” to better understand how interaction and ownership affect health.