Stress Relief by Playing with a Dog

When it comes to high-stress university environments, Yale Medical School probably ranks close to the top. (It is, for example, the only medical school in the country that requires students to write a doctoral dissertation.) So medical students and medical residents may need a few minutes to de-stress between sitting in on an oncology lecture, dissecting a cadaver in anatomy lab, and attending grand rounds. But can a few minutes of downtime really reduce anxiety levels and improve your mood? A new study by Yale researchers which will appear in a forthcoming issue of the journal Anthrozoös suggests that even very brief sessions of R and R can have large effects – if they involve hanging out with a dog.
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