Gardening for Better Health

Gardening is a hobby that is taken up by many people. Gardening means decorating your backyard with beautiful plants and flowers. It also means taking care of nature while looking after yourself. Yes, gardening, directly and indirectly, has numerous effects on the human body. People plant various plants in their garden, some put up a beautiful flower of their choice, while some plant a fruit or vegetable. Gardening, of any form, must be encouraged as it not only keeps the environment healthy but has the same effect on the person who practices it.

Let us learn about some benefits of gardening on the human body. Visit gardeningstuffs.com, to learn more about the intricacies of gardening and the requirements for a particular type of it.

Source: USA Today

The following are the eleven benefits of gardening:

1. Gardening helps maintain fitness: Many people have seen that while practicing gardening, they felt healthier. Gardening is an excellent source of losing fat as you can lose up to 350 calories in an hour of work in your garden. Especially older folks, who are willing to manage their weight without any strenuous exercise, can opt for gardening. Such a form of work will not be dull as a person can stay healthy by following his/her hobby, which is excellent and effective.

2. The sunlight is essential: While working in the garden, the sun nourishes your bones with its elixir. Vitamin D is the most critical nutrient for the bones. This vitamin will increase the level of calcium in your body. Exposure to sunlight is the best source of getting Vitamin D. Avoid staying in the sun for too long and use a good sunblock.

Source: BBC

3. Helpful in reducing stress: Gardening is known for battling depression-related symptoms like anxiety and stress. While you are in your garden, your mind gets diverted from the reason that causes you stress. Your mood gets automatically boosted, and you forget your worries for a brief period. Gardening for a more extended period will help in curbing stress more effectively.

4. Gardening will make you confident: One of the most amazing benefits of gardening is that it can bring your self-esteem back. Many people suffer from a lack of confidence due to some trauma or incident that badly hits self-esteem. The moment you grow a plant, you get a sense of joy, and you start believing in yourself again. This sense of accomplishment makes you more confident with yourself.

Source: Which? magazine

5. Grow organic and eat healthily: If you are growing some form of vegetation in your garden that is edible, you can follow the basics of organic farming. Any fruit or vegetable that you grow in your garden must be free from chemical-based fertilizers. By doing this, you can encourage organic agriculture. Such fruits and vegetables will provide more nourishment and health benefits than those you purchase from the market. You can ensure the cleanliness of the crops that you harvest.

6. Anger management: If you face issues managing your anger, then gardening can be therapeutic for you. You’ve had a fight with someone, or you cannot complete a specific task, or be it any reason that causes anger, go to your garden, and start working. A simple task will prove to be effective in such cases. Plucking away unwanted plants from the soil will prove to be helpful. By doing this, you divert your anger to a productive task that will benefit you in many ways.

Source: Spinavita Chiropractic

7. Gardening benefits the heart: Because gardening is a form of exercise, you reduce the risk of a heart attack or a stroke later in life. Even for senior citizens, maintaining a healthy heart is essential. Gardening can act as a form of exercise for them and reduce the cholesterol level in the body. Cholesterol is the primary reason for heart-related illnesses.

8. Gardening increases happiness: While growing a plant, you are working with nature. You work with the soil, and you watch your plant grow. Watching a plant during its growth process is the happiness of the top form. You are connecting with your environment, and you feel a sense of contribution towards mother earth. Gardening will provide you a reason to be happy and help maintain the ecosystem.

Source: Green America

9. Gardening makes you a responsible person: People grow plants and sometimes get attached to them on a level that they consider them as their children. Taking care of a plant, watering it daily, adding fertilizers to the soil, and keeping the pests away builds a sense of responsibility. The attention towards your plants gives you a sense of love and affection for them. You feel that you are responsible for their growth, and this makes you a competent person.

10. Gardening increases strength: Working with gardening tools and using your bare hands on the soil can improve your strength. Working directly with earth while planting a seed and plucking the weeds can also enhance your immunity. You can avoid the risks of arthritis in the future as your hands and finger are becoming stronger.

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

11. Gardening builds a sense of togetherness: A lot of people practice cultivation with their families. This form of gardening makes you work as a community. Such practices should be encouraged as people working together can help each other and benefit each other. A family that works in a garden together can bond on a better level. Many families gather in their gardens on weekends and work together, sometimes their neighbors also join. These things make the kids learn about the community working and how working together can be beneficial. Working together can also be a learning experience for the children as the older family members can teach them a lot about the topic.

In conclusion, gardening is beneficial for health not only physically, but also mentally. Every individual must practice and encourage others as well to indulge in some form of gardening. Following this will serve the environment and health and will restore the age-old practice that our ancestors developed.

Leave a Reply

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