Human blood type and stress
Do you know what blood type you are? It appears that there is a relationship between our blood type and the health problems we are susceptible to (What does your blood type mean for your health?)
People with blood type A tend to have more cortisol so may have a harder time dealing with stressful situations. Often called the “fight or flight” chemical, cortisol acts as an overall stimulant, causing your body to react to a perceived threat, whether real or imagined. Lower your Cortisol Levels, Reduce your Anxiety gives a helpful explanation.
Cortisol Levels between Dogs and their Owners
I have blood type A. At the time of writing I had two dogs; Archie, a Labrador, who was quite a stress-bucket, and Jack, a Swedish hound, who was much more chilled. I wondered if my stress levels could be affecting my dogs?
Researchers have measured the level or cortisol in dogs and their owners to assess aspects of their relationship. By measuring hair cortisol concentration (HCC) one study identified that long-term stress hormones were synchronized between dogs and humans (Sundman et al., 2019) This was not explained by physical activity or the amount of training. It was concluded that the dogs were mirroring the stress levels of their owners. This synchronisation seems to be associated with the owner’s personality, rather than the dog’s.
The original study involved two herding breeds, Shetland sheepdogs and border collies. A further study, using a similar approach, was completed using breeds; that were closer to the wolf in genealogy; and breeds that were bred to hunt independently (like Jack). This second study did not find the long-term stress synchronisation that was noted with the herding breeds. In contrast, the ancient breed and solitary hunting dogs’ cortisol levels, were found to be affected by the type of relationship they had with the person (Höglin et al., 2021). Cortisol concentrations in dogs was seen by researchers as a measure of the quality of the dog’s experience in the relationship, low cortisol levels suggesting a happier, more stress-free dog.
What is your experience?
It seems reasonable to expect that dogs that are bred to work more closely with people, like collies, Labradors and spaniels, to name a few, might be more susceptible to synchronise with our stress levels. What blood type are you? What breeds of dog do you have?
If you want to read more about how dogs might be affected by our emotions check out Why Does Your Dog Hump You or Why Does a Dog Chew what it Chews?
