Researchers at the University of Michigan observed that seniors who have kept a pet for more than five years tend to show higher cognitive scores than their peers without pets. The discovery appears in the Journal of Aging and Health, underscoring how daily companionship can influence brain health in older adults.
Pet ownership is a lifestyle factor that shapes well being through emotional support and stress relief. The study sought to determine whether there is a link between having a pet and cognitive health measures among older individuals, beyond the obvious joy of animal companionship. The aim was to understand whether steady relationships with a pet might correlate with sharper memory and thinking skills as people age.
For the analysis, researchers drew on data from the Health and Retirement Study, a large, long term project that tracks health and social factors in adults. The dataset included information on about 20,000 participants, capturing whether a pet was present and how cognitive abilities measured over time. Surveys were conducted every two years from 2012 through 2016. In 2012, roughly 47 percent of respondents reported owning a pet. Among those, about 19 percent had a pet for one to five years and about 28 percent had owned a pet for more than five years. These figures provided a baseline for comparing cognitive performance across pet ownership groups as age progressed.
Among participants aged 65 and older, the data showed a notable pattern: those who had owned animals for more than five years performed better on cognitive tests than those who did not own pets or who had pets for five years or less. In contrast, no similar difference emerged among participants younger than 65. The researchers emphasized that age appears to modulate the relationship between pet ownership and cognitive outcomes, suggesting benefits may accumulate with longer periods of contact and care with a pet.
Beyond overall scores, the study highlighted specific memory domains that seemed to benefit from sustained pet ownership. Individuals who had maintained a pet for more than five years tended to have stronger performance in immediate recall and in delayed recall tasks, indicating advantages in both short term and longer term memory processes. This pattern points to potential mechanisms, such as reduced stress responses, increased routine and social engagement, or enhanced activity levels that come with caring for a pet, all of which may support brain health in later life.