Gardening Health Benefits – Do you like to enjoy the succulent produce from your garden? Do you find it interesting to see colorful fruits of your harvests? The bounties of your garden are greater than all the wealth in the world. Nature has designed gardening to be fun, interesting way of getting a healthier product that improves diet by leaps and bounds.
From potatoes to carrots, rich greens, oranges, and onions or even garlic– there is no much you can grow in your garden. But it’s not just your diet that gardening improves. There’s a lot more that this simple, vigorous activity has to offer.
Also Read: You Must Try These 13 Gardening Tips.
Gardening is good for you. It offers many mental-physical health benefits that will make the activity more fun, interactive and healing. Try gardening for its ultimate heath benefits. Here are the gardening health benefits for you.
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1. Reduces feelings of isolation
Gardening might appear to be a solitary activity, but in actuality, it can help in reducing the feelings of isolation, Thrive, a UK based charity insists that gardening has quite many benefits.
Its CEO, Kathryn Rossiter explains that through gardening, people can be more active and may discuss their love for the gardening with others. Sharing these feelings can give them many mental health benefits while boosting their mood. In fact, gardeners are likely to have higher self-esteem.
2. Stress Relief
Our current lifestyle has made us more prone to stress. But gardening can help in reducing these feelings. A recent Dutch study indicates that gardening can help in reducing cortisol levels- a hormone that is linked to stress.
Elevated cortisol is responsible for obesity, memory and learning problems while affecting heart function. Therefore, a reduction in the hormone can help in stress relief.
3. Promotes Heart Health
One of the most distinct advantages of gardening is that it improves heart health. It’s similar to doing moderate-intensity exercise. But it’s certainly more rewarding and engaging than cycling or running on a treadmill. Garden can cut heart attack and stroke risk by 30% in people over 60 years of age.
If you or someone you know is elderly and loves gardening, you can make the job easier for them by choosing raised bed gardens. This will help prevent joint tear without affecting the efficacy of the produce. Try 30-50 minutes of gardening a day.
4. Improves hand dexterity and strength
Hand-healthy gardening can offer a variety of benefits. It not just helps in ensuring that your hand skill is increased, it can even help in the rehabilitation of patients or people with hand problems. In fact, you can use your non-dominant hand while garden to improve brain function.
5. Reduced chance of Alzheimer’s disease
Lifestyle factors have increased the chances of developing Alzheimer’s and dementia in later stages. But gardening can help in reducing the chances of developing brain conditions. Daily gardening can reduce the risk of dementia up to 36%. And that’s not all! It improves overall brain function by improving brain strength, dexterity, problem solving and senses.
6. Regulates immune
Gardening helps your body soak up Vitamin D when you work in the sun. But that’s not the only nutrient that you are getting from this wonderful activity. With the produce you get through gardening, you can improve your health and ensure immune regulation.
7. Mental Health
Depression is a serious concern among the mental health community. Horticulture therapy or gardening can help in ensuring better mental health. The combination of physical therapy with the natural surroundings and the satisfaction one gets from gardening can help in reducing the depression symptoms. At the same time, it can aid in feelings of well-being.
So, go ahead! And try these amazing gardening health benefits and feel the deference.
Also Read: 13 Things Mentally Strong People Never Do