Gardening Can Improve Your Health – Here’s How!
Gardening is one of the best ways to stay healthy. It’s easy, inexpensive, and fun. While most of our time nowadays is spent indoors on computers, doing work projects, shopping, and even going to kids’ events, gardening can help you break out of that mold. Not only does gardening provide a source of food for your family if you grow fruits and vegetables, but it also gives you an outlet where you can reduce stress, get outside, and connect to the earth. Here are some of the best benefits of growing a garden.
Gardening Gets You Outdoors
Gardening is a great way to get outside and get some exercise. As you may know, getting outdoors and moving your body is good for your overall health. You’ll spend time in the sun getting vitamin D and breathing fresh air. You can meet your neighbors if they come outside during this time. You don’t need a ton of tools to get started either. A few pots, some potting soil, and some seeds for your favorite plants are all more than enough to get your garden going. There are also plenty of methods for planting directly in the ground as well. When you’re going to be outdoors, make sure you also wear sun protection like a hat or brush-on mineral sunscreen.
Gardening Burns Calories and Builds Muscle
Gardening is a great way to get some exercise, as it can burn up to 400 calories an hour. This is because gardening has been shown to help build muscle and strengthen your heart. If you’re looking for something that’s easy on your joints, gardening may be the perfect activity for you. Using raised beds can be beneficial for people who experience joint problems or have a hard time getting low to the ground. Most gardeners find that the work they do in their garden becomes easier over time, due to the strength gained from gardening.
Gardening Reduces Stress
Gardening is a low-impact exercise that can help you relax and reduce stress. There is something that happens in your brain as your hands connect to the soil and the plants. There is an exchange of energy that helps to lower your heart rate and reduce your stress levels. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by work and life, get outside and start a small garden. You’d be amazed at how your efforts make you feel at the end of the day.
Gardening Improves Your Mood
Gardening is a form of meditation. The repetitive motions of weeding, watering, and planting help you relax and de-stress. Gardening has been shown to improve your mood, as well as your sleep quality, making it one of the most effective ways to reduce anxiety and stress in your life. It can lead to more peaceful feelings which then translate into fewer arguments at home, more joy, and even fewer angry moments.
Gardening Helps You Sleep Better
Gardening is a great activity to practice when you want to relax and wind down. It’s also an activity that can help you sleep more soundly. Studies show that exposure to natural daylight during the day helps improve sleep quality at night. Gardening is one of the best ways to get this type of exposure, especially if you are doing it outside during daytime hours.
Gardening Helps You Eat Better
Gardening is one of the easiest ways to help you eat better. Even if you don’t think your garden will be particularly productive, growing just a few different plants can make a huge difference in your diet. Growing food at home means that you’re more likely to make use of what’s grown, rather than buying processed foods and convenience items that are full of sugar, salt, and unhealthy fat. Growing vegetables also helps you to incorporate more nutrition into your diet by making meals easier to prepare at home. It can also be more appealing knowing that your veggies were grown in your backyard and not on some faraway farm.
Conclusion
As you can see, gardening can be an incredibly beneficial activity for your health. Many people don’t realize how much time they spend indoors, and the benefits of getting outside to connect with nature are numerous. You’ll experience anything from improved sleep quality and moods to stress relief and weight loss. For those who need motivation beyond their own personal health, there are plenty of other reasons why gardening should be a part of everyone’s life.
