When you get that awakening within you to work on your health, the first thing that comes to mind is walking, or joining the gym. Gardening is the last thing that comes to mind. But did you know that gardening has been researched and proven to have many health benefits – both physical and mental? Although the effects of gardening magnify the more you indulge in it, it benefits beginners too. So what are you waiting for? Grab your gloves and other gardening tools and let’s start digging up all those benefits!
How Does Gardening Help With Mental Health – Here Are 4 Mental Health Benefits
1. Improves Brain Functioning
Gardening is a physical activity, which means that it improves blood circulation all over the body – including the brain. Increased blood circulation implies better oxygenation. As the brain gets more oxygen, you are more likely to protect yourself from brain-related problems like Alzheimer’s and Dementia. In fact, there was a study conducted on the correlation between gardening and the reduced chances of dementia. The study included around 800 women in their middle ages and was conducted for 44 years. It found positive impacts of gardening on brain health.
2. Reduce Stress Levels
Gardening secretes oxytocin – the happy hormone that makes you feel accomplished and full of life. Every type of physical activity reduces stress levels but with gardening, you see results not just in your body but in your plants as well. The feeling is fantastic and will help you reduce stress levels over time.
3. Gives A Sense Of Accomplishment
Adding to the point made above, whether you are planting flowers, decorative plants, or fruits and vegetables, gardening gives a sense of accomplishment. Nothing can beat that feeling you get when you are responsible for nurturing and growing life. That, combined with the positive changes you see in your body, gives a sense of accomplishment.
4. Makes You Happy
In a world where stress is everywhere and happiness is scarce, gardening can help you get your mind off things and make you happy. The soft and crumbly mud and the smell of earth bring us closer to nature and away from the stress of this corporate, artificial world that we have built for ourselves.
Additionally, repetitive tasks like digging, pruning, watering, etc secrete oxytocin in our body and make us happier. This happens to people of all ages.
4 Ways That Gardening Helps With Physical Health
1. Increases Vitamin D
Almost everyone is on vitamin D supplementation these days because we drive to work, workout in the gym, and go home where the temperatures and humidity are heavily regulated. Our current lifestyle does not give any scope for natural sunlight. When you add gardening to your routine, you have to indulge in it during the daytime – preferably around the morning – it is the best time to soak in some vitamin D. This will protect you from so many conditions like Osteoporosis, which may happen because of a severe lack of vitamin D.
Even those who indulge in container gardening or indoor gardening will get some vitamin D benefits if they have many plants that need routine maintenance.
2. Strengthens Arms
Everything from watering the plants to rotating the soil and carrying pots and mud from one place to another requires a bit of arm strength. You may not realize it but your arms are slowly getting stronger with every gardening session. And since gardening is more in line with our natural movement, our arms don’t bulk up, they just get more sculpted.
3. Improves Mobility
Have you ever wondered how gardening helps the elderly? This is because gardening improves mobility. The more you move, the more you can move! Of course, an outdoor garden is more effective for this. Do not strain yourself to bend and kneel if it is too painful but if you can kneel and bend to tend to your plants, make sure you do it often to maintain your mobility even when you get older.
4. Improves Heart Health
With an active hobby added to the routine, you enhance blood flow all over your body which reduces the pressure on your heart. Did you know that people with a more active lifestyle have a lower resting heart rate? This means that the heart does not have to work extra hard to pump blood to your body, especially your lower extremities like your feet.
When your heart is not pressured, it is far less likely to be at risk, and with a healthy happy heart you can continue to live a healthy, happy life.
Key Tips Before You Start Gardening
For gardening to give you all these benefits, you must remember some of these key tips:
Start Slow
Gardening will not improve your health if you are overwhelmed by it. So start slow and grow hardy plants that can withstand rookie mistakes. Once you start gaining confidence, you can move on to more complicated plants.
Be In The Moment
Yes, it does feel good when the plant finally gives fruit but remember, you will not succeed every time. So be in the moment. Make sure you enjoy getting your hands dirty in the mud and take in the smell of the freshly watered earth. Involve all your senses, from the sound of the water drizzling over the flower bed to the first green leaf that comes to the surface – be in the moment.
Stretch Before You Start
I know you wouldn’t think to stretch before gardening but trust me, when you are hunched next to a bush, under the sun, you will forget the strain it’s putting on your muscles. Long hours of physical activity can cramp up your muscles. Stretching makes your muscles loose, warm, and ready for physical activity.
Recovery
And finally, like any other workout, you need to give yourself time to recover. Gardening does not require daily work. You need to give your plants time to adapt to the new soil, temperature, sunlight, etc. So, apart from watering your plants daily, you should reserve the strenuous activities for 1 weekend.
Conclusion
We hope this article answers how gardening improves your overall health. Gardening for health, mental health, indoor gardening, outdoor gardening and any combination that deals with the earth, seeds, and water is good for you. So if you’re thinking of picking up a new hobby, gardening needs to be the one you choose! All the best on your gardening venture!
