Why is Gardening Good for You

Gardening is an accessible activity that promotes physical activity and social interactions. This hobby is a great way to unwind, destress, and get some much-needed time to chill and forget about work and life challenges hence in long run beneficial for both your mental and physical health.

You'll find a lot of reasons why gardening is good for you

Gardening Can Be A Great Way To Unwind

The repetitive actions and tasks in gardening (such as watering plants or pulling weeds) can help quiet your mind so that you can focus on other things, such as brainstorming new ideas at work or catching up on chores around the house. 

Being so connected to nature may even cause you to drift off into what’s called “mindfulness,” which improves your overall mental health by keeping you focused on positive thoughts, instead of negative ones and keeps you away from distractions like social media notifications or news alerts popping up on your phone all day long. 

Planting and caring for a garden also gives you the sense of accomplishment of seeing something you seed and cared for grow from the earth.

Gardening Reduces Stress Levels

A pilot study in Florida showed that gardening for just 30 minutes twice a week was enough time to reduce stress hormone levels by more than half!  It linked garden vegetation with lower indicators of stress, as captured by diurnal cortisol profiles.

In addition, it also helped reduce blood pressure by almost 10%. This shows us that even just 30 minutes spent in the garden could help lower your risk for heart disease while helping you relax at the same time!

Gardening Can Boost Your Mood And Keep Depression At Bay

In the Florida pilot study, researchers found that indoor gardening improves mood disturbance and feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress in adult women.

A positive outlook is essential for a healthy, happy life and gardening can help you feel better about many things in your life, including: 

  • Yourself. When you garden, as said, you’re getting physical exercise, which will make you feel healthier and more energised overall. Plus, if your gardening leads to an edible crop (and it will!) then, it’s likely that you’ll have some delicious food on hand that can boost your mood even further!
  • Your home. The act of tending plants can soothe and relax — after all, who wouldn’t enjoy planting beautiful flowers or herbs? This peaceful activity can also give new meaning to the space around your home by creating something beautiful.

Also cleaning, organising and decorating the place you live will give you a nice, gentle and warm sensation of caring. 

Fresh, Delicious Organic Food

Once you taste garden fresh vegetables and fruit, you’ll never want to go back to consuming the processed foods from your supermarket. 

You can harvest your own fresh, organic fruits, herbs and vegetables

Instead of spending your hard-earned money on produce that has long before it ripened and then stored in artificial conditions, venture out into your garden and see what is growing. 

One of the best ways to improve your health and feel better daily is to eat a balanced diet that comprises of fresh vegetables and fruit.

And when your garden is flourishing with healthy vegetables, herbs and flowers, you’ll be able to harvest organic food and prepare delicious, healthier meals.

A Fun Way To Exercise

Gardening is an excellent exercise that won’t leave you feeling out of breath after just ten minutes! 

And because it involves using lots of muscles in different ways, it burns calories and keeps them off longer than many other forms of exercise would. It’s aerobic and also helps to build strength, tones the muscles and gives a full-body workout. 

It is also a gentle and easy exercise that does not stress the joints, unlike walking or running. It improves blood circulation, burns excess fat, and relieves stress. 

You can get most of these benefits working in your own garden while planting, digging, watering, fertilising or carrying earth and plants.

If all this isn’t enough reason to dig up those weeds, know that gardening will also make sure no one else has a chance at stealing your spot on the couch when four seasons have passed since the last time anyone visited their garden!

Gardening Is A Great Way To Keep Your Brain Active And Healthy

As you plant flowers and watch them grow, you’ll be training your mind to focus on long-term goals and problem solve solutions, preserving your cognitive functions. 

Planning your garden helps to train your cognition

For example, to grow your own food, you first need to decide what plants you want to grow, where they are gonna be placed, how much exposure to sunlight they need, and how many times you need to water weekly. You can keep track of all the information in a (cute) agenda if you wish to. In other words, gardening requires thinking. You might also want to start with research: look up information on the types of vegetables and herbs that would be good ones for beginners, or even just for people like us who don’t have much experience with gardening yet but want to learn more about it. All this planning can help you stay sharp as you age, along with other benefits for the elderly!

Gardening Can Help You Sleep Like A Baby

There is no shortage of people who have trouble sleeping and suffer from insomnia. 

Studies show that green areas, especially gardens, can aid in treating a wide range of sleep disorders including insomnia, sleep apnea and even just plain old sleeplessness. 

Plus, it’s well known that the benefits listed above, being active and exercising the mind, can help lower stress, reduce depression, curb anxiety, and also contribute to a better night of sleep.

Gardens Can Be Great Places For Socialising And Making Friends

Gardens are a great place to meet new people who share your interest in gardening. This can be especially helpful if you don’t have many friends, or if you’re trying to make some new ones.

If you’re interested in meeting other gardeners and nature lovers, there’s no better way than joining a local gardening club or community garden plot. There is almost certain to be one near you.

It’s also easy to connect with other people online through groups like Facebook and Twitter. 

Some Facebook online groups are Singapore urban gardening, SG container gardening & urban farming, Home Gardening Singapore, Organic gardening, and health Singapore.

These sites are full of gardening enthusiasts of all ages, so there should be no shortage of potential contacts! 

Conclusion

It has proved the benefits of gardening through many studies from the past decade. 

Many of them showed that greater engagement with nature is linked to better mental health, such as low depression and stress levels and high sleep quality, promoting a sense of well-being, lowering stress levels and improving mood, while reducing the risk of depression and anxiety disorders.

There is nothing more satisfying than walking in your garden, taking a deep breath, and admiring how your plants, vegetables, and herbs are thriving. 

You made it happen. Well, Mother Nature made it happen, but you were the one who planted those seeds and watered them daily. 

Gardening is a rewarding hobby for those who have green fingers (Or know how to follow online instructions). Not only do you get the exercise, but you’ll be able to harvest organic herbs and vegetables which can cook delicious meals, relax, sleep better and live a better, mindful life.

There is a lot of evidence that gardening is good for you. It’s time to get out there and start planting!

Let us know what you like us to write next?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *