A psychosocial benefit to walking your dog

Hint: It has to do with saving memory.

February 08, 2024

Feature of the week

Taking your dog on regular walks can help minimize dementia, study reveals

You read that right—a new study from Japan reveals that owning a dog can lower the risk of dementia in older adults.

According to researchers from the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology, dog owners over 65 years old are 40 percent less likely to develop dementia due to the social nature of dog walking.

“Having a dog effectively requires people to get into the habit of physical activity and that makes it much more likely that they will have interactions and socialize with other people,” says Yu Taniguchi, the lead author of the study.

Regardless of dog ownership, engaging in regular exercise and social interaction can decrease the likelihood of developing dementia. But we think you’d agree—it’s definitely more fun to do social activities with a furry pal by your side.

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Tokyo Institute of Technology | Japan 🇯🇵 | Physics

Sekiguchi received the 2022 Saruhashi Prize, which is given to female researchers who have made remarkable achievements in the field of natural sciences. Sekiguchi was rewarded for her work on “three-body nuclear force” among the nucleons inside atoms.

Chinese Academy of Sciences | China 🇨🇳 | Sustainability

Environmental geologist Zhu was conferred the 2022 International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) Von Liebig Award in recognition of his contributions to soil science research.