Staying healthy not only requires us to be physically fit, but we need to be mentally fit too. Gardening is one such activity that keeps both our body and mind fit and therefore keeps us healthy. Gardening has got everything that rejuvenates the body and mind. A study conducted by Loughborough University in association with a horticulture charity organization has proved that gardening not only makes a person physically healthy but also offers mental health and social well being. A three year study has shown that benefits of gardening can be used as tool to help adults overcome their various physical and social problems. Let us see the various benefits gardening can offer.
1. Reconnects you to the nature
Nature itself is the greatest healer for all problems. God intended us to live in harmony with mother nature but we became civilized and moved away from nature to our concrete cities. The more we are moving away from the nature the more we suffer from physical and mental stress. Similarly, reverse is also true and moving back to nature helps us reconnect with divinity and reduce stress on our mind and body. People spend lots of money to go out and spend time with nature. Just imagine yourself to be in green woods by closing your eyes and it will sooth you.
2. Makes you physically fit
Gardening is a great physical exercise. Once you are out there digging mud and planting new plants your entire body is in physical activity. Using a shovel for gardening is a kind of aerobic activity that helps increase your blood circulation and increased breathing helps increase your lung capacity. At gardening you sometimes bend down on your knees and use your hands to dig mud, sow seeds and then get up to move to other place to do the same activity. The best part is that you exercise while gardening and you even don’t feel like that you are exercising. Staying in the garden also provides you fresh air with less or no pollution that helps us breath better.
3. Makes you mentally fit
The famous psychologist William James discovered that a person can think only one thing at a time and by changing our thinking patterns we can change our attitudes too. As you can see that if we are focusing ourselves on gardening we are unable to think anything else which helps us move away from our stress. Stress creates a vicious cycle where worry causes stress and more stress increases our worries more. Gardening breaks the cycle and relieves our mind of stress giving eternal serenity. Many garden lovers say that they can even talk to the flowers and leaves in their gardens because gardening cuts them off from the world and they can feel the pleasure they never felt anywhere else. It has been seen in various studies that better than medication patients responded well connecting to the nature through gardening. In another study a professor from the University of Colorado injected mice with a harmless soil bacteria mycobacterium vaccae, showed release and metabolism of serotonin in the brain, a neurotransmitter that is related to cognitive functions and lower depression.
4. Gives your life a purpose
A life without purpose is meaningless. Life is all about finding purpose for which we can live for. Living the same monotonous life day in and day out makes you bored and you lose excitement in life. This is also one of the main causes of stress and depression. Gardening provides you a purpose where you sow seeds or a plant and then take care of it like a child and nourish it to see it growing every day. Looking forward to this change and seeing the plants growing healthy gives your life a sense of purpose and reinserts life into our body.
5. Gives you fresh fruits and vegetables
The vegetables grown in your garden will be the best organic food you could get. This also improves your habit of eating healthy. In a study it is seen that kids attending the school gardening program are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables consumed immediately after plucking from the garden are rich in vitamins, anti-carcinogenic agents and antioxidants. This is the healthiest food you’ll eat.
It is a wise decision to start gardening which doesn’t require a big backyard. Gardening can also be started in a small place and even a novice can begin with a container gardening.
