Do You Feel Less Stressed After Petting Your Dog or Cat? Science Explains Why

If you have ever noticed your shoulders drop the second you start scratching behind your dog’s ears or when your cat curls up on your lap, you are not imagining it. Touch and connection can shift your body out of a high-alert state, and pets can be a surprisingly direct way to get there. Research on human-animal interaction suggests that even short periods of petting or calm contact can reduce physiological stress signals like cortisol and support a more relaxed nervous system state. It tends to be most noticeable in the moment, but it can also become one more reliable tool in your overall stress-management toolkit.

Why Pets Can Reduce Stress

Helps Shift Your Nervous System Toward “Rest and Digest”

When you are under stress, your sympathetic nervous system activates. That is the branch responsible for mobilizing energy and keeping you alert. Your heart rate may increase, your breathing can become shallower, and your muscles may stay slightly tense, even if you are doing something simple like sitting at a desk. In short bursts, this response is a normal physiological reaction. But when this happens for prolonged periods, it can leave you feeling wired, fatigued or emotionally reactive.

Petting a dog or cat can help interrupt that cycle. Gentle, repetitive touch provides regulated sensory input that the brain can interpret as safe. That safety cue helps decrease sympathetic activation and increase parasympathetic activity, the branch associated with rest, digestion and recovery. Parasympathetic activation supports a slower heart rate, deeper breathing and reduced muscle tension, which many people subjectively experience as “finally relaxing.”

“Petting dogs or cats decreases stress through neurochemistry. Petting is a calming activity and turns down autonomic arousal known as fight or flight,” says Timothy Jeider, M.D. “By turning down the sympathetic nervous system it allows the parasympathetic nervous system to turn on, which is what drives a calm and relaxed physiological state,” he explains.

Research on human-dog interactions supports this shift, showing changes in cardiac measures consistent with increased parasympathetic activity during calm interaction. In practical terms, this means that a few minutes of petting your dog or cat before a stressful event, after a difficult conversation or at the end of a long day may help your body return to baseline more efficiently.

May Reduce Stress-Related Hormones

Cortisol is one of your body’s primary stress hormones. It rises when your brain perceives a threat or demand, helping mobilize energy so you can respond. In small doses, that is useful. But when cortisol stays elevated, it can contribute to feeling tense, restless or mentally overloaded.

Research suggests that interacting with a dog, particularly through physical touch, can lower salivary cortisol levels. That shift does not erase the stressor itself, but it may help your body stop amplifying it. Instead of staying in a heightened state, your physiological response begins to taper. “While petting an animal, you’ll likely experience a decrease in cortisol and an increased release of oxytocin,” says Erin Whelan, CPDT-KA, CSAP-BC. “You may also experience a lowered heart rate and lowered blood pressure,” she explains.

Oxytocin plays a role in attachment and social bonding, but it also influences how safe and connected you feel. When oxytocin rises, the brain tends to interpret the environment as less threatening. This may mean that a few minutes of calm, positive contact with a pet can help recalibrate that interpretation. Which may be why petting your dog or cat can feel grounding even if the stressor itself did not change.

Can Have an Immediate Impact

Many studies show measurable changes in stress markers after a relatively short session with a dog, including reduced salivary cortisol in college students after a 60-minute interaction. Animal-assisted interventions also show short-term improvements in stress and anxiety outcomes across multiple settings.

“The strongest evidence points to immediate stress relief rather than long-term changes in mental health,” says Julie Robinson, LMFT, M.Ed. “Pets aren’t a substitute for therapy or medical care, but they can be a powerful and accessible source of emotional and nervous system regulation.”

This might be why petting your cat for five minutes before a stressful work meeting can feel different than scrolling on your phone before that same meeting. One activity reinforces safety cues through touch and connection; the other often keeps your brain in a more stimulated state.

Provides Co-regulation

A pet can function as a co-regulator. Co-regulation means your nervous system stabilizes in response to another responsive presence. Unlike many human interactions, pets offer consistent, nonverbal feedback. They respond to tone, proximity and touch without judgment or complex social evaluation. Over time, that predictability can make it easier for your body to relax and de-stress.

“We’ve discovered that when we share eye contact with our dogs, we both experience a release of oxytocin,” explains Whelan. She also emphasizes that repeated cycles of approach and calm response from a pet can help build a sense of safety. Emerging research suggests that during restful periods, heart rate variability patterns between dogs and owners may even begin to synchronize. This may suggest that nervous system regulation can be relational rather than purely internal.

Other Tips for Managing Stress

Pets can be a great way to lower stress, but they work best alongside other fundamentals that support your mental and physical well-being. Here are a few evidence-based options to stack with your pet break:

• Build in brief movement most days. A short walk can lower stress and help you reset mentally, especially if you can get outside.
• Practice a quick relaxation technique. Try progressive muscle relaxation, guided breathing or a short mindfulness exercise to reduce stress.
• Practice sleep hygiene. Stress and sleep are highly linked, so keeping a consistent bedtime and wake time can help make stress more manageable over time.
• Reach out to someone safe. Social support is a proven buffer against stress, whether that is a friend, partner, support group or therapist.

Our Expert Take

Research on human-animal interaction consistently shows measurable shifts in stress-related physiology during positive contact with pets. Studies have documented changes in cortisol, heart rate, blood pressure and autonomic nervous system activity, particularly during calm, physical interaction. The evidence is strongest for short-term stress reduction, which can still be meaningful in day-to-day life.

While pets do not eliminate stress, they certainly can help reduce it. When a pet relationship feels supportive and manageable, time with a pet can be one practical way to help your body shift into a calmer state.