Spring has sprung, and it’s a great time to get started on your garden again!
Planting a garden has many more health benefits beyond boosting your curb appeal or having homegrown fruits and vegetables. Starting and maintaining a garden can benefit your body, mind, and overall health. Here are five perks you’ll “cultivate” while working in a garden.
1 – Boosts Mood: Taking care of a garden may help relieve stress and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and the daily routine (i.e., watering and weeding) helps create a soothing rhythm to ease tension.
2 – Fresher Plates: Growing and eating the foods you garden positively impacts your diet. Gardeners are more likely to include vegetables in a healthy, well-balanced, diverse diet.
3 – Extra Exercise: Gardening activities like weeding, digging, and raking leaves are considered cardio exercises. You’ll reap benefits like balance, strength, and flexibility.
4 – Gets You Outdoors: Spending time outdoors is great for your overall health. People tend to breathe deeper when outside, helping them clear out their lungs, improve digestion, improve immune response, and increase oxygen levels in the blood.
5 – Healthier Aging: Research studies show that horticultural therapy (a person’s engagement in gardening and plant-based activities) may help protect and treat people with dementia.
Sources:
https://d31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net/20230330/d5/fd/ad/26/6e44b7f3f4c02492f43f2398/benefits-of-starting-your-own-garden.pdf https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/dig-into-the-benefits-of-gardening#:~:text=It’s%20been%20shown%20to%20lighten,soothing%20rhythm%20to%20ease%20stress
