Gardening For Well-Being Why Gardening Is Good For Your Health

Is gardening good for your health? The short answer is Yes! Undoubtedly. Ask any gardener and they will tell you that gardening is good for you. Let’s take a closer look at the huge array of reasons why gardening is good for your Health and why everyone should be gardening for well-being.

Gardening for well-being is one of the best reasons to get out into a garden, whether you have 5 minutes or 5 hours.

Your physical and mental well-being vastly improves and what’s more…it’s free!

You don’t even have to do any gardening, visiting a garden is healthy too, being out in the fresh air amongst trees, plants and flowers will increase your feeling of well-being, your mood will be happier and calmer.See here for gardens near you.

The next time you’re feeling low, or work/family issues are causing your stress levels to sky rocket or aches and pains are making you miserable, get out into the garden. You may be surprised at how much better you will feel.

Studies show that physical health, fitness and mental capacity all improve from being outdoors and performing gardening tasks.

• Planting a tray of seeds Improves coordination and can ward off anxiety and depression.
• Pruning with secateurs or loppers Improves muscle strength and muscle structure.
• Scarifying a Lawn Tones muscles and helps with weight loss.
• Mowing a Lawn Tones muscles and helps with weight loss. This type of exercise can also decrease the chances of heart disease.
• Grow some of your own vegetables Eating homegrown vegetables and fruit helps you enjoy a healthy diet.

Gardening For Well-Being Why Gardening Is Good For Your Health

Fitness

Not only are you keeping your garden looking great, you will look and feel fitter and healthier too.

All the above activities improve balance, the best treatment for balance issues is exercise.

Awkward tasks such as handling seeds and seedlings hone dexterity skills, not only good for an elderly gardener but these tasks also teach children fine motor skills, essential to their development.

Coordination is vastly improved by regular gardening activity.

Gardening gets us outside, breathing fresh air and doing exercise thereby increasing Cardio fitness without the need for pricey gym memberships!

Gardening For Better Health and Wellbeing

 

Health

By planting trees, plants, shrubs, or growing houseplants we increase the air quality around us. People working in an office that has indoor plants are more productive than workers in offices that don’t have any plants around them.

Being out in the sunshine, absorbing vitamin D is vital for healthy bones, studies show that 1 in 5 adults don’t get enough vitamin D. People with gardens and / or allotments are healthier than people living in UK cities.

Growing vegetables, fruit or fruit trees improves your diet, gardeners are more inclined to eat plenty of fruit and veg, especially if they have grown it themselves. Schoolchildren who have access to a school allotment or garden are more willing to eat fruit and veg and try different ones.

Gardening keeps your mind alert and can help fight dementia. Dementia sufferers are calmer and less aggressive when they are able to visit gardens.

Energy levels are increased by gardening activity.

Gardening aids healthy sleep patterns.

Well-Being

Self esteem is higher in both adults and children after just a few hours work in a garden.

We feel a fantastic sense of purpose and of pride when tasks are complete, or when we see seedlings grow into beautiful flowering plants. Allotmenteers feel pride at bringing home food for their family and friends, also at allotments there is huge sense of community, helping with self-esteem and social skills.

Gardening lifts your mood and relieves stress and anxiety.

Humans have, I believe an inate connection to Nature, nurturing and caring for all the surrounding Nature is highly satisfying and for some, it gives them a sense of spiritual freedom.  Working in tune with Nature, with seasonal rotations is good for your soul.

 

Gardening Health Facts

• Health guidelines recommend 2 strength exercise sessions per week. Lawn mowing, raking, lifting and scarifying counts.
• Gardeners tend to be fitter than non-gardeners.
• School gardening teaches children fine motor skills and social skills.
• People who feel their life has meaning and purpose feel healthier and happier.
• Gardeners are generally slimmer than non-gardeners.
• More vitality means you’re better able to fight off illness.
• Gardening helps to keep your brain alert.

 

The Proof Is In The Pudding, Or Should I Say Planting?

I am working all day, nearly everyday in gardens, with plants, flowers and trees. My well-being, health and fitness thrives on gardening. The different activities provide an essential health and fitness regime without me even thinking about it.

 

One of the gardens I care for is at a local care home, today I planted up several new containers for the patio area with spring flowers and bulbs.ideas-for-spring-containers The joy I got from that cannot be measured, but more importantly the pleasure the residents derived from seeing those plants and flowers, talking about them, smelling and touching them was beyond compare.

One of the residents used to work at Kew Gardens in London, he has a window box and his well-being and the happiness he feels from tending that small container of flowers that he can see from his room is so evident it makes my heart sing.

I recently, as part of an end of winter tidy up, cleared paths in two gardens, I cleared weeds, debris and all slip/ trip hazards and cleaned the paving. My two clients both called me after to say that they felt able to go into their garden because the cleaned paths made it safe to do so. They felt better at being outside, pride and esteem was improved because they had achieved a walk in their gardens and had spent time enjoying plants and flowers.
is-your-garden-spring-time-ready

Basically gardening is a win win situation .

But don’t just take my word for it…go and do some gardening or visit a garden on a regular basis, trust me, you will feel better for it. Let me know in the comments box below how gardening improves Your Health and Wellbeing.

Please share this article with friends and family and on social media.

 

Happy Gardening

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