Can Watching Viral Cat Videos Improve Your Life?

A university study has found cat videos boost more than just your mood. 

We all do it.  For some it’s a guilty pleasure.  One that they privately indulge themselves to inside dark rooms hunched over their illuminated computer screens. Others fully embrace their primal instincts and flaunt their viewership with pride.  Of course we are talking about online cat videos.  It is hard to deny that watching videos of cats can make you smile, but a scientific study has found they also make you healthier. 

Viral cat videos are pawsome...sorry, swear thats the only cat pun.

According to Professor Jessica Gall Myrick of Indiana University Bloomington, “Some people may think watching online cat videos isn’t a serious enough topic for academic research, but the fact is that it’s one of the most popular uses of the Internet today.  "We all have watched a cat video online, but there is really little empirical work done on why so many of us do this, or what effects it might have on us.” That has all changed thanks to her new study that measures the exact affects those “aww”-inspiring inspiring cat videos have on our psyche.

With over 26 billion views a year, cats make up some of the most viral videos on the web. To study their impact on the viewer, Professor Myrick had over 7,000 participants view some of the 2 million cat videos uploaded to the Internet last year.   Then she assessed the videos effect on the viewer’s mood and health.

The results?

Watching cute web videos of cats had an undeniably positive effect on the viewer.  The test subjects had considerably more energy, less anxiety, and experienced an overall increase in positive emotions.  That may not be so surprising, we’ve all experienced the joy an adorable video of a cat can bring.  What may shock you is that viewers who used cat videos to procrastinate doing work, became more productive and happy afterwards.

Cat videos boost mood, fight 

depression, and improve productivity! Thank you science.

Don’t believe it? Try it out yourself.

Believe cat videos will improve your productivity or not.  Worst-case scenario is your new pre-work ritual is watching scarred giant men hold tinny kittens. There really is no downside here.  Next time you have that difficult report or paper due, do yourself a favor and watch the Internets top trending cat moments on Unreel’s Aww channel and then get to work!

Enjoyed this article?  Spread the love and share it!

Hated this article? Who asked you anyway?  Share your outrage with your friends.

Please join Unreel and discover the online video moments that matter.