Therapy dogs help students relax and relieve stress
A partnership between the University and the Alliance of Therapy Dogs brought therapy canines to campus as a way to relieve stress during exam times.
Dee Patel, December 2nd, 2021
At the Wharton School Campus in central Philadelphia, first-year student Esha Pathi said spending time with a therapy dog helps relieve stress: “The last few weeks have been very stressful with a lot of assignments, and the weather is perfect today,” she said. “The opportunity to pet dogs is a big stress reliever.”
The Wharton Undergraduate School, in partnership with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, provided the canines in November as a part of the initiative to provide study breaks for students and give them a way to relieve stress during exam times. Students participating in the program approached the dogs one-on-one or in small groups. The time students spent with a therapy dog varied from a few minutes to an hour. Such programs are becoming more common at universities as students cope with the challenges of student life and increasing workloads.
“Dogs offer a unique type of social support, as they can provide unconditional affection in a way that humans sometimes cannot,” says Lauren Powell, a researcher at the School of Veterinary Medicine. “Studies show students generally feel less stressed after interacting with a therapy dog.” Therapy dogs can also help students achieve a stronger sense of belonging and better deal with being homesick while lessening their anxiety. According to Powell, some of this can be explained by how human bodies respond to pleasant interactions with therapy animals.“When we interact with dogs, we typically find our heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels decrease, and our oxytocin levels often increase,” she says.
Lisa Podolsky, associate director of student life at Wharton and organizer of the event, says she was thrilled to be able to provide the therapy dogs to students.“College can be a stressful time, and it’s hard to take a moment to breathe and relax when there is always something that needs to get done,” she says. “The therapy dogs were intended to help students find balance and prioritize their wellness. This event gave students the chance to let go of their stress for a moment and experience joy.”
Source: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/therapy-dogs-help-students-relax-and-relievestress#:~:text=%E2%80
%9CStudies%20show%20students%20generally%20feel,homesick%20while%20lessening%20their%20anxiety. [Adapted].
Accessed on: August 24th, 2022.
Select the proposition(s) which contain (contains) a correct definition or synonym for the words or expressions in bold as they are used in text 1.
01. relieve: intensify
02. assignments: tasks
04. pet: domesticated animal
08. lessening: increasing
16. pleasant: enjoyable
32. thrilled: very happy