Six surprising benefits of gardening

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul ~ Alfred Austin

Did you know that gardening could be just the hobby you need to make you feel happier and calmer? It has plenty of other added benefits too. There’s no better time to start your hand at gardening. You could become immune to illnesses such as the common cold and influenza, develop confidence, skills, and even keep your mind healthy. See for yourself:

Stress Relief

People who gardened for just 30 minutes were tested afterwards and had lower cortisol levels than those who just read a book. They also reported feeling in a good mood. Here’s why:

• Serotonin is increased in the brain when we are exposed to sunlight. This balances our brain and keeps us feeling great.
• The fresh oxygen we enjoy as we garden is good for our cells and helps us to feel energised. Well, being and mental focus have both been reported by people who spend time gardening outdoors.
• Gardening can be both exciting and rewarding due to expressing our creativity and reaping what we sow. This makes it a good stress management technique.

Higher Self Esteem

As gardening can be quite the skill, we can build higher self-esteem because of it. People with hobbies always have higher self-esteem and confidence than those that don’t have hobbies. The earlier on your start to develop your hobbies, the better. Specifically, gardening can help by:

• Giving us a form of exercise. This will improve physical strength and burn calories, which have both been linked with a greater feeling of self-esteem.
• Helping us to focus on accomplishments. Perhaps you successfully grew and nurtured a herb garden, for instance.
• Exploring a passion and giving us a sense of purpose.

You can find more on this here.

Better Brain Health

Gardening was proven to be one of the biggest factors in people who avoided dementia. Gardening is thought to reduce your risk by up to 36% (see here). Because gardening improves our strength, endurance, learning, and problem solving, it wards off both dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Fresh Fruit and Veg

If you become a great gardener, you could produce high quality, fresh fruit and veg. This means you’ll save money on your weekly shop and know exactly where your food has come from. Places like Pomona Fruits make it easy for you to grow your own. It’s good for the environment and you won’t need to worry about pesticides.

You’ll Become Immune

When gardening, you could become immune to just about everything. First of all, the Vitamin D you get from the sunshine will stop you from getting colds. Secondly, getting dirt under your fingernails can actually be beneficial. There are bacteria found in dirty nails that can stop symptoms of allergies and asthma to name just a few things. Proof that getting your hands dirty is healthy! It also helps with mental health, as mentioned elsewhere in the post.

Feel Happier

Just about anybody you talk to who enjoys gardening will tell you about the happy feeling they get from it. In fact, this is scientifically proven. People with depression found that gardening helped them to fight it. To get the best effects from gardening this way, make sure you’re working with a variety of plants. Go for food, scented flowers, and pretty plants. Here’s more information on this study.

Now it’s time for your say?

Has gardening helped you through a tough time? We would love to hear the tips or stories you have to share with others. After all, what works for you might help someone else.

As always, your interaction with our posts creates a reservoir of wisdom for all our readers to benefit from so please share your thoughts, stories and questions in the comments box below and remember to tweet, like and +1 ~ thanks we appreciate it.

Additional Resources
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