It has been known for a long time that gardening offers many benefits both to a person’s physical and mental health. It has been used by hospitals as a form of therapy and by senior centers to help keep people engaged in physical and social activities. Schools have also used gardening as a way to involve students with nature.
Physical activities associated with gardening often includes: digging, bending, raking, mowing, and carrying items to be planted. Some of the benefits of these activities are strengthening muscles, keeping joints functioning properly, improving manual dexterity, burning of calories and increasing lung function. When a person works outdoors they tend to absorb more vitamin D from sunlight which is also beneficial to bone strength and to lowering blood pressure.
Gardening is also beneficial from a mental health perspective. Gardening has been shown to:
- Improve relaxation
- Improve self esteem
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Improve socialization
- Decrease depression
- Diminish PTSD
- Improve thought processes
Gardening clearly offers many benefits to a person’s all around well-being. It doesn’t take much to get started and the results will provide endless opportunities to enjoy the effort that goes into it.
All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.