Videos of puppies designed to trigger emotional responses can help office workers under chronic stress manage their cardiovascular and mental health, according to a new study.
A joint research team led by Professor Song Young-hwan of the Department of Pediatrics at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and Professor Park Chul of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Jeonbuk National University had 66 South Korean office workers watch a 15-minute puppy video produced by the team. Blood pressure and pulse rates stabilized and measures of anxiety and mood disturbance improved significantly, the researchers said on the 31st, according to medical industry sources.
Dogs have long been human companions not only because of their intelligence and sociability but also because of physical features that appeal to human instincts. Their large eyes, round faces and small noses and mouths stir affection and a protective impulse in many people. In animal behavior science, such features — which evoke the appearance of a young animal and prompt attention and caregiving behavior — are known as the "baby schema."
The researchers set out to determine how these baby schema traits affect blood pressure and stress responses in working adults. They analyzed the elements that elicit emotional reactions, including a puppy's face, expressions and movements, then structured those findings into the video's composition, framing and filming techniques. In particular, they designed camera angles and scenes so viewers would feel they were making direct eye contact with the puppies.
The 15-minute video consisted of five three-minute segments, featuring puppies playing in water and running around a yard, a puppy sitting in a toy car, a mother dog caring for her litter, and a mother dog and puppy making eye contact.
Comparing participants' blood pressure, measured in millimeters of mercury, and pulse rates before and after viewing, the researchers found the most pronounced gains in an elevated-blood-pressure group whose readings beforehand were 120 or higher systolic or 80 or higher diastolic. Their systolic pressure fell 6.65 to an average of 118.58 from 125.23, while diastolic pressure dropped 4.93 to 83.38 from 88.28. Pulse rates declined by 4.12 beats per minute.
In the normal blood pressure group, systolic pressure fell an average of 3.16 and pulse rates dropped 2.76 beats per minute, but no significant change was observed in diastolic pressure.
Stress responses also improved. Scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State (STAI-S), which gauges levels of anxiety, fell an average of 9.43 points in the elevated-blood-pressure group and 6.64 points in the normal group. Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) scores, which combine measures of tension, depression, anger, fatigue and confusion, declined 11.77 points and 7.92 points, respectively.
Stabilizing Blood Pressure and Stress in Daily Life
Three out of every 10 South Korean adults have high blood pressure, according to the Korean Society of Hypertension. TELUS Health also reported in its Mental Health Index for the first quarter of 2026 that South Korean workers scored 56.9, a level it considers strained.
Both high blood pressure and chronic stress are major risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes. The study's significance lies in identifying the potential of a convenient, non-drug tool for stabilizing blood pressure and stress in everyday life.
"Blood pressure is not an indicator that can be fully managed through medication alone, and it is continuously affected by stress and living conditions," Song said. "If content-based interventions that are easy to apply outside the clinic are used alongside existing treatment, they could develop into a new supplementary tool that helps patients manage everyday stress and control blood pressure."
Kwak Sang-ki, chief executive of Happy Dog TV, took part as first author of the paper and planned and produced the video used in the study. The findings were published in the international journal Frontiers in Public Health.
