Health Benefits of Gardening – If you have been advised to live a healthy life and start exercising but you are someone like me who gets bored working out, then you will have to find alternatives to a workout. I have recently discovered that workout can be replaced with a few hobbies like gardening which can help me stay as fit as any other cardio exercise hence I have listed a few health benefits of gardening below for you to go through;
1. Reduces Stress:
Studies have concluded that gardening lowers the release of cortisol levels which is a stress hormone. Elevated levels of this hormone have been linked to obesity hence this, in turn, helps you manage a healthy weight and thus reducing the chances of developing heart disease
2. Reduces Heart Health Risk:
Gardening is equivalent to good heart health which means you are now getting some exercise which will keep your heart healthy. Most people who do not like to work out, develop the cardiovascular disease but if you love gardening then you are getting the physical activity equivalent to 3 hours of workout every week which means the risk of a heart attack reduces by 30%.
3. Improves Mental Health:
Gardening can not only benefit you physically but also mentally as when you toil to grow the plants and you see the results, it brings a sense of satisfaction which can help you deal with depression and improve your mental health. Gardening keeps you busy as well, which means it acts like a therapy. Also, when you sit in your garden comfortably enjoying the surroundings, you will feel tranquil and relaxed.
4. Improves Immunity:
Working under the sun improves your Vitamin D level, which most people are deficient of nowadays which improves your health. Working in the sun heals in killing germs and helps fights the flu. The soil under your nails also helps you in many ways as per studies. It helps in relieving of allergies, depression, and asthma. Gardening also keeps you fit hence this improves your immune system.
5. Gardening Teaches How Selfless Giving Can Be Satisfying:
Gardening can also teach you important life lessons such as the importance of being selfless and to be able to give to others without expecting from them. Gardening is an activity where you toil hard without any expectations. You just wish well that the plants grow, you work hard to grow something from the start which is a lot of work. Gardening improves your behavior and directs your thought process in the right direction.
6. Your Garden can Be Your Retreat:
After the hard day’s work, you can sit in your garden, relax within the beautiful plants and breathe fresh air. Enjoying your own garden can be the best way of breaking the days’ stress. Just make sure to protect your personal retreat by adding critter fences from critterfence.com, so that your efforts are not spoilt by these miscreants. Secure your garden with good quality fences and enjoy your own zen area.
7. Improved Sleep:
Gardening can be tiring enough already on top of that the satisfaction that it gives will help you sleep better. As gardening eliminates stress, it is the best medicine for people suffering from insomnia.
8. Hand Strength Improves:
Gardening needs you to use your hands mainly for digging and pulling plants hence this will improve your hand strength. If you do gardening for a long period-of-time, for many years you will be able to maintain the strength of your fingers and hands.
Summer is already here, and it’s not too late for you to start your own garden. Instead of using seeds to start a garden you can buy small plants and start focusing on growing those plants to create your own small happy space.
