Why Gardening is Good for Mind & Body

From an article by Carly Wood at www.theconversation.com (11/17/15)

Spending time outdoors in a natural environment helps us to feel less stressed, reduces the symptoms of depression, and enhances our concentration and attention by allowing us to recover from mental fatigue.

A growing body of evidence shows that gardens can make a significant contribution to our health and well-being, not just as a way to get some physical exercise but also to improve our mental state. There is even some limited evidence that gardening might play a role in helping people to cope with serious health problems such as cancer.

Any type of gardening is an opportunity for physical activity. Gardening is typically seen as moderate intensity exercise equivalent to playing doubles tennis or walking at a speed of 3.5 mph, and so carries similar fitness benefits.

Gardening is also linked to better diets. Home and allotment gardens have long been important for domestic food production, but gardening can also encourage people to eat more healthily and act as an educational resource on nutritious food. 

Research has shown that gardeners generally have greater life satisfaction, enhanced self-esteem and fewer feelings of depression and fatigue than non-gardeners. 

But more than this, the act of gardening can specifically improve people’s moods. Asking gardeners about their mood before and after a gardening session, participants in our survey reported gardening improved self-esteem and reduced feelings of tension, depression and anger.

Other research suggests that gardening can increase life satisfaction, and both reduce and promote recovery from stress. In fact, gardening leads to greater reductions in stress following a stress test than either reading indoors or an indoor exercise class. This last point suggests that the mental benefits of gardening may be more than just a side-effect of the physical exercise involved. 

Gardening can also involve social interaction and becoming part of a community. Gardeners often share their knowledge, skills and experiences with each other and by doing so develop relationships and support networks. People with strong social networks have an increased life expectancy, greater resilience to stressful life events and fewer visits to the doctor.

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