Gardening is a wonderful hobby you can do with your loved ones. It gets you all outdoors in the fresh air and not inside on your latest piece of technology. But there are some major health benefits while you should be setting foot outdoors and working on your green thumb. For one thing, it’s great for your physical health. Digging and raking is sure to sweat off those pounds. But it’s also excellent for your mental health. In fact, here are some reasons why gardening is medicine for the mind.
Spending time outdoors lifts our spirits and calms us
There’s something about being outside that brings us peace. The fresh air is refreshing and can bring a calmness for our breath. In fact, if you sit outside on a bench from Sloane and Sons Garden Benches and just concentrate on breathing in the fresh air, it can help steady your heart rate and ultimately help you to relax.
Being around nature and wildlife will lift your spirits as you appreciate the world and all the wonderful things in it. It helps you to forget the stressful things in your life. As you plant new flowers or water your growing produce, you will lift your spirits and feel a lot calmer when you go back into your house. As you work in your garden, you will feel happier and a lot more relaxed.
Being physical reduces stress and boosts our mood
You will find that being physical will have a lot of benefits to your mind. As well as helping you to get fit and healthy, it can help you to boost your mood. As you garden, the physical work will cause happy hormones to release in your body. These good hormones such as serotonin will help to lower stress levels and will boost your mood.
Therefore, an hour of working out by exercising in your garden will soon see you feeling a lot brighter and energetic. You will find that it works away all the stresses of the day and leaves your mind feeling clearer. In fact, if you have a lot of built up stress and worries, you will find that gardening will help to release these out of your mind. Helping you to focus on the good things in your life.
Gardening improves our social interaction which is positive for our mental health
Another reason why gardening is medicine for your mind is that it boosts your social interaction. One of the best things for your mental health, you will find that you will talk and work with others when gardening. You will become part of a community that you will bring you happiness and a better support network. As discussed in The Conversation, if you garden on an allotment, you will find you can share knowledge, skills and experience with others. You will make new friends and social interaction is one of the best things for your mind to stay in good health.
Even working outside with your family gives you a chance to socialize and catch-up with your loved ones. You might feel you can talk more openly while gardening which can help you to think of solutions to problems which are causing you stress which is damaging to your mental health.
It helps us to feel responsible and is incredibly rewarding
It’s easy to feel worthless when you are having issues with your mental health. You don’t feel good enough and struggle to focus on tasks. Therefore, gardening can bring you a new sense of responsibility. It’s up to you to look after the plants and flowers in your garden. Therefore, it encourages you to feel a new sense of responsibility that will bring you happiness. As it says on Psychology Today, looking after plants will help you to respect and appreciate other living things.
It’s also incredibly rewarding which will boost your mental health. As you see your plants and produce flourish in your garden, you will feel a sense of pride and happiness. You will show people your garden and will feel excited about what you have achieved. Gardening is medicine indeed and the sense of achievement it creates is highly beneficial to your mental health.
