Besides putting a meal on your table and adding the oomph to your compound, gardening offers many health benefits.
Gardening exposes you to physical activity and the sun’s vitamin D. The fresh, bountiful harvest of fruits, herbs, and vegetables helps you eat healthily.
Connecting with nature improves mood, boosts energy levels, and may help with dementia. So there are several reasons why you should start gardening.
7 little-known health benefits of gardening
The benefits of gardening are many. But a few are little known and yet overlooked. In this article, we will reveal the seven most overlooked health benefits of gardening.
1. Helps maintain a healthy weight
Working in the garden for one hour can burn about 330 calories. It’s like a medium-intensity workout exercise. Burning calories helps maintain a healthy weight, regulate blood pressure, and lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
In 2013, The American Journal of Public Health conducted a study among gardeners and nongardeners. The study found that gardeners had remarkably lower Body Mass Index (BMI).
2. Healthier meal choices
Gardening also provides healthy, fresh produce to boost your dietary needs. For example, it may help meet the daily recommended intake of fruits and vegetables. You also get greater access to different varieties of foods.
Fruits, vegetables, and legumes have antioxidants that protect your body against free radicals. As a result, they may help against some cancers, boost your immune system, and slow aging.
3. Relieves stress
Many, if not all, forms of physical activity relieve stress. For example, according to a study by Preventive Medicine Reports in 2017, gardening improved mood and reduced anxiety and depression symptoms.
Gardening also creates a routine in your daily activities. This has been found to promote mental health and help with dementia. It also helps you sleep better after a long day full of physical activity.
4. Improves social bonds
Gardening brings farming and non-farming communities together, fostering good social connections. Gardeners share their produce, experience, and expertise, promoting good friendships.
Humans are social creatures, they say. And social bonds lower stress and depression, promote sharing and give people a sense of belonging.
It also promotes networking, as you get to meet people with different experiences. So gardeners can also exchange ideas about gardening and improving their productivity.
5. Healthier skin and bones
Sunlight helps you to produce vitamin D, which helps absorb calcium and maintain healthy bones.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that exposure to sunlight also helps the skin fight psoriasis, eczema, acne, and jaundice.
Remember, too much exposure harms you and may harm your skin. So it is recommended that you use sunscreen cream if you are planning to spend more extended periods under the sun.
6. Curbs climate change
Growing plants help to curb climate change by reducing greenhouse gases. In addition, this process brings a cooling effect to the environment.
Farmers may help to reduce the greenhouse effect by growing plants since they reduce carbon dioxide from the environment.
7. Horticultural therapy
Many rehabilitation centers use horticultural therapy for people recovering from addiction. As mentioned, plants evoke good emotions and boost your mood.
For ages, plants have been instrumental in rehabilitation centers. They offer a healthier environment for people recovering from different forms of addiction.
Studies have backed the importance of gardening among addicts. People in rehabilitation centers who chose to tend to plants as part of their recovery process finished the program at a higher rate. They also registered more satisfying results than their counterparts who chose art as part of their natural recovery process.
Make room for gardening
Subsistence and large-scale gardening have existed for millennia. The sole purpose has always been to provide food, but little was known about the therapeutic effects it has.
Today, studies have shown the positive health effects of gardening, and it won’t do any harm to give it a try.
Tip: Research your soil type and the plants you can grow beforehand. Also, start small and scale up when you know the plants you want to grow.
