Study: Pets can boost your brain power, slow cognitive decline

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - New research is showing that having a pet could boost your brain power.

A recent study found that it can delay memory loss and other kinds of cognitive decline.

It seemed to be especially helpful for exercising your verbal memory, like memorizing a list of words. One example is all the nicknames people come up with for their pets.

And it wasn't just true for people with cats and dogs. Some participants also owned rabbits, hamsters, birds, fish, and reptiles.

Study authors say you have to have a pet for five years or more to see improvement, but those who did in the study had a cognitive decline rate of 1.2 points less over six years than those who didn't.

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