While there are many out there who know and appreciate the importance of gardens in residential areas, not everyone is aware of the surprising health benefits that come from gardening. You may have spent all your time gardening for the sake of gardening, but in reality, you were always participating in an activity that was secretly improving your health over time.
Curious about how your body is kept in ship-shape just by regular gardening? Read on.
Vitamin D
Ask any gardener serious about their hobby, and they’ll tell you the best time for gardening is early in the morning, when the first rays of the sun are just hitting the ground. The surroundings aren’t too dark to work in, nor has the sun climbed to its zenith making the environment unbearably hot. Not to mention the smell of fresh dew is very refreshing. In short, perfect weather conditions for a labour-intensive activity like gardening.
However, this time of the day is also the best to increase the levels of Vitamin D in your body. That’s right, the good old sunshine vitamin! More Vitamin D in your body means a smaller risk of bone diseases like osteoporosis, and thus healthier bones overall. So you can improve your Vitamin D while enjoying your favourite gardening activities.
Mental Health
With all the buzz surrounding mental health these days and the great importance of spreading awareness about problems like depression, it’s great to learn gardening is another way one can tackle these issues in a healthy, productive way. Studies show that activities like gardening can help boost mood, which is beneficial when cultivating a positive mindset.
As well as boosting mood, gardening can also help to reduce your stress. Spending time out in the garden can help you focus on planting, pruning bushes, and enjoying your favourite hobby. Participating in this slow past time lets one relax their mind while their body gets into the rhythm of working on a flowerbed, an act that is therapeutic in its own right. In short, gardening can have the same soothing effect on the body as a nature walk can. It is a great way to unwind after a stressful day and relax.
Healthier Heart
How does gardening help your heart? Well, remember how gardening is one of the best stress-free past times you can adopt? Well, as it turns out stress isn’t all that good for your heart. Too much stress can increase your blood pressure over time and lead to heart issues. Having a relaxing activity like gardening as a part of your daily routine can be an effective way to keep the amount of stress you experience in check. But that’s not the only way gardening keeps your heart healthy.
Gardening takes a fair amount of physical exercise, and where stress can prove to be quite detrimental over time, physical exercise can do wonders for your cardiovascular system. Your breathing and blood circulation is gradually improved, meaning you can get more oxygen in your blood and thus more oxygen transported around your body effectively. All of this cardio activity in the garden works towards keeping your heart healthy.
Physical Fitness
As well as boosting your mood, and helping your heart working in the garden is also a physical activity, that can contribute to your overall fitness. For those who work desk jobs, continuously sitting can ruin a body’s posture and hurt your back. Activities like gardening are a fun way to stay motivated to workout and get in shape. Plus, fitness can bring a myriad of health benefits with it as well such as reducing the risk of stroke and type 2 diabetes. So by getting your exercise in in with regular gardening you’re helping to ensure you stay healthy and feel your best.
Manual dexterity
Ever felt awed by someone’s ability to use their hands in swift, precise motions? These fine motor skills aren’t something everyone has, but they’re something one can develop over time. And one of the ways you can train your manual dexterity is, you guessed it, gardening. Not that that’s surprising, since gardening is such a hands-on task, always using some tool or the other to fix some part of your garden. You can also find many options for gardening gloves, so that you can protect your hands while gardening without losing any dexterity.
Fine motor skills help you perform precise actions on a broader level, meaning if you were to improve them with the help of gardening you’d be able to perform a lot of tasks with greater precision and speed, like playing the piano or typing for example.
If you’re short on time though, you can still create a stunning garden. With the expertise of local gardeners, you can efficiently design a vibrant, soothing garden even when you’re too busy. Depending on the availability of the gardener, they may also be able to help with gardening maintenance. So, if you already have a garden but simply don’t have the time to maintain it they can help take care of its pruning and watering needs to keep it looking great!
