Spending time in a garden can be a rich and rewarding experience that is healthy for your body and soothing for your mind. Young children, teenagers, active adults, people with illnesses, people with disabilities, and elderly men and women can all gain health benefits from gardening. The garden doesn’t have to be large. You only need a patch of soil or a small window box. Even a couple containers filled with fresh earth and a handful of seeds will suffice. Keep your garden small and manageable and slowly add to it until you discover the perfect size just for you. Spending a short amount of time every day in your garden will have several positive effects on your health.
Exercise – The time you spend relaxing and taking care of your garden will often pass swiftly. By working at a steady but constant speed you will increase your endurance.
Weight loss – Instead of paying money to use a gym (that you may not even go to consistently), spend time in your garden. Moderate physical labor will help you to burn calories and increase your metabolic rate. Maintaining an optimal weight will help your heart, joints, and blood sugar levels.
Reduced stress – What better outlet for relieving anxiety and chronic stress levels than the joy of digging your hands through the cool soil, watching tiny seedlings sprout, and reaping your first harvest of the season? Nature sounds such as birds singing and leaves rustling in the breeze are soothing to many people. This connection with the natural world enables you to forget your worries for a time.
Sunlight – Your body makes vitamin D when your skin is exposed to the sun’s light. Vitamin D helps our bodies to absorb calcium and phosphorus. If you don’t get enough sunlight or vitamin D, you are at risk for developing muscle spasms, bone softening, tooth decay, nervousness, and irritability.
Fresh air – Breathing in fresh outdoor air is much healthier than inhaling indoor air that traveled through the same dusty air vent hundreds of times. The fresh air will enable your airways to open more fully, which allows more oxygen to your body. Increased oxygen levels to the brain will heighten mental acuity.
Creativity – Gardening promotes daydreaming which in turn stimulates creative thought. Planning and designing your garden also requires creative expression. Research suggests that creative people are more innovative with problem solving, more optimistic, less lonely, and require fewer visits to their healthcare professional.
Stronger Immune system – Scientists are studying how friendly bacteria found in soil can boost the immune system. Contacting fresh soil with your hands isn’t only relaxing, it’s good for you.
Patience – Nature has its own timeline. It takes time for tiny seedlings to germinate and grow. Gardening teaches us patience.
Better sleep – After spending time in the garden, most people fall asleep faster and remain asleep longer without interruptions.
Harvest benefits – A harvest of colorful flowers fresh from your garden will give you more than a feeling of accomplishment. Studies have shown that flowers actually have an immediate impact on happiness and a long term effect on mood. Gardeners who harvest vegetables and fruits have access to a bountiful supply of healthy antioxidants. Antioxidants are the beneficial chemicals inside fruits and vegetables that help the body to repair and protect the tissues inside the body from certain harmful chemical reactions. Plant a couple varieties of flowers along with an assortment of your favorite herbs and vegetables to enjoy a harvest as beautiful as it is healthy.