Connecting with nature is a powerful tool, and studies suggest that just a few hours of gardening each week can have a positive impact on mental health. In some parts of the UK, GPs have even started using ‘green prescriptions’ including therapeutic community gardening to help their patients manage issues like anxiety and depression.
Gardening comes with many benefits, but here are four ways it has been proven to improve health and wellbeing.
1. Relieves stress
Studies have shown that people who garden have even lower stress levels than those taking part in other relaxing activities. This is because gardening is a great way to shut out distractions and concentrate on the job in hand. When you’re gardening, your mind is focused on tending your plants, digging your veg patch or pruning a shrub. And simply enjoying a calm, green space is a wonderful way to relax and unwind.
2. Improves brain health
Studies have linked gardening to better brain health and a lower risk of degenerative brain disease. This is because physical activity, problem solving and sensory awareness all contribute to healthy brain function. It’s good to know that your war against weeds isn’t entirely futile – it’s also keeping your brain active and healthy!
3. Provides physical exercise
Gardening gets you outside and moving. The kind of exercise you get in the garden is quite different to that which you might experience in a gym. You can burn over 300 calories an hour with all the bending, stretching and lifting that’s required in the average garden. We all know that exercise increases levels of the ‘feel-good’ chemicals serotonin and dopamine in your nervous system – so the old adage, ‘a healthy body equals a healthy mind’, could be more true than you realise.
4. Boosts mood
Gardeners admit that they often feel a huge sense of pride and satisfaction in their gardens, no matter how small or large. This is proven to boost self-esteem, lift mood and contribute to better well-being. And people who wouldn’t normally call themselves ‘creative’ sometimes discover an unexpected affinity with plants, surprising themselves with what they can accomplish. The wonderful feeling that comes from creating something beautiful or growing something delicious is priceless.
Spending time outside, working at an allotment or joining in at a local community garden is a good way to connect with nature and improve your health and wellbeing. Not sure where to start? Keep checking our ‘what to do in the garden this month’ pages for sowing and growing ideas.
Sources:
- Cultivating wellbeing and mental health through gardening, The British Psychological Society
- How Plants Promote Better Health and Wellbeing, UK Research and Innovation
- Gardening for heath: a regular dose of gardening, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Lead image: Lavender ‘Sensational’ from T&M (© Plantipp/Visions BV Netherlands)
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