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Why gardening is good for you and how to enjoy its benefits
Some people love gardening and consider it an enjoyable hobby. Others see it as a necessary chore. But whatever your perspective, both casual and avid gardeners will be pleased to learn that gardening and well-being are closely linked! From providing an escape from the snow, dreariness, and lack of sunshine of winter to the joy of watching your planted seeds and bulbs bloom in spring, gardening has many benefits that you may not have fully appreciated until now, or even realized.
Gardening is more than just a hobby for older adults; it's attracting younger adults, and a growing number of school curricula are incorporating gardening and its benefits. Popular smartphone apps like Plant Snap, blogs like You Grow Girl, and buzzy hashtags like #citygarden and #growyourfood are encouraging young adults to get their hands dirty, and since gardening and wellness go hand in hand, this can only be a positive thing!
Gardening for mental health
Gardening is good for your physical, mental, and social health. Science has proven it!
A meta-analysis highlighted the benefits of gardening, including reduced anxiety and feelings of depression. Gardeners had a lower body mass index (BMI), which is the gold standard for healthy weight analysis. Gardeners reported greater overall satisfaction, a better quality of life, and a stronger sense of community. 1
In addition to its benefits for the brain, gardening contributes to improved mental health. This activity helps combat stress and has even been proven to be more relaxing than reading or other hobbies. Gardening also beautifies a space. When our homes, neighborhoods, and cities are beautiful, our quality of life is enhanced.
But improved cognitive and brain health are also among the many benefits seen by gardeners. In Australia, researchers followed nearly 3,000 people over the age of 60 over a 16-year period to better understand the lifestyle factors that contribute to the onset or prevention of signs of dementia. Gardening every day was one of the main factors protecting participants from the condition. 2
Good for the environment
Gardening or growing your own vegetables also contributes to better environmental ethics. The resources used in mass agriculture contribute to global environmental degradation. Added to these environmental degradation-causing resources are the fuel used to transport food, plastic for containers, questionable pesticides, and the poor nutritional quality of unripe harvested produce, which travels long distances and is stored much longer than in the past between harvest and consumption. These phenomena are also responsible for the fundamental changes in the nutritional value of fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, and nuts. You can counteract some of these effects simply by having a herb garden on your kitchen windowsill. In this way, you help the environment and contribute to a healthier diet for you and your family. Another benefit is that you know where your food comes from. This allows you to get to know your small-scale farmer.
The link between gardening and well-being
The lack of contact with nature is growing in developed countries. Proponents of "vitamin N" ("n" for "nature") argue that simply going to a small city park is important for spending some time outdoors. There's no need to take a long hike in a forest far from home. Gardening is a microcosm of the natural world, with the added notion of interactivity. While a walk in the woods is great for the senses of sight, smell, and hearing, gardening brings the added benefit of touch.
Another reason gardening promotes well-being is that it allows for greater exposure to vitamin D, which boosts your immunity and helps improve your mental health. Additionally, direct body contact with the earth connects us to the planet's natural electromagnetic field. This is quite possibly the best antidote to the "electromagnetic pollution" generated by Wi-Fi, cell phones, and 5G, as well as the non-native electromagnetic fields generated by our enormous global electrical grid and the circuits that serve nearly every home.
Gardening as a form of physical exercise
It may not be the first physical activity that comes to mind, but gardening definitely is! While most gardening activities won't make you sweat as much as running or swimming, gardening can help you stay fit by maintaining your flexibility and agility.
Squatting to pull weeds, bending over to plant a seed, and twisting your torso to mound soil around a plant are just a few examples of the functional movements that gardening promotes.
You'll be surprised how hungry you'll be after a few hours of gardening, proving that this activity burns a lot of calories!
- Soga, Masashi, et al. “Gardening Is Beneficial for Health: A Meta-Analysis.” Preventive Medicine Reports, vol. 5, 2017, pp. 92-99. doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.11.007. [ ↩ ]
- Simons, Leon A, et al. “Lifestyle Factors and Risk of Dementia: Dubbo Study of the Elderly.” Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 184, no. 2, 2006, pp. 68-70. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006. tb00120.x. [ ↩ ]