The health benefits of having a dog are well documented - they're good for your self-esteem, stress levels and bound to increase your daily quota of exercise. And if you feel like you and your pooch are in sync, we now know the scientific reason why.

New research proves that not only do they help reduce your heart rate, but that when you're in their company your hearts will beat in time.

The study comes from Pedigree who monitored the heartbeats of three dog owners when they were separated from their pets and then when they were reunited. It found that when they were back together, not only did the human's heart rates slow down, but the dog's too, so that their hearts aligned.

Mia Cobb, canine scientist and demonstration co-conductor explained to The Huffington Post Australia: “There was a really strong coherence in the heart rate pattern of both the owner and dog. Upon being reunited within the first minute, each heart rhythm became almost directly aligned and we saw a reduction straight away.”

When we love our dogs our hearts beat in time, making us less stressed