“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.” ~ Alfred Austin’s wisdom.
There’s no better time to try your hand at gardening than the present. You could become immune to “winter illnesses” such as the common cold and influenza, you can develop self-confidence, you can improve your skills, and you can even keep your mind healthy. See for yourself:
- It offers higher self esteem
As gardening is quite a skill, one can build a higher self-esteem right because of it. As a rule, people with hobbies always have higher self-esteem and confidence than those that don’t have any hobbies. The earlier on you devote to your hobbies, the better. Specifically, gardening can help by:
- Giving you a form of easy-go exercise. This will improve your physical strength and help you burn calories, which have both been linked with a greater feeling of self-respect.
- Focusing you on accomplishments. Perhaps you have already successfully grown and nurtured your very own herb garden and know the feeling!
- Exploring a passion and giving you a sense of purpose.
- It offers stress relief
People who gardened for just 30 minutes a day were tested afterwards and had lower cortisol levels than those who just read a book. They also reported feeling good. Here’s why:
- Serotonin is increased in the brain when we are exposed to sunlight. This balances our brain and keeps us feeling great.
- The fresh oxygen we enjoy as we garden is good for our cells and helps us to feel fully energized. Well-being and mental focus have both been reported by people who spend time gardening outdoors.
- Gardening can be both exciting and rewarding due to expressing our creativity and reaping what we sowed. This aspect also makes it a good stress-management technique.
- It offers better brain health
Gardening was proven to be one of the biggest gains for the people who did not end up with dementia. Gardening is thought to reduce your risk by up to 36%! Because gardening improves your strength, endurance, learning abilities and problem solving, and it wards off dementia, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s.
- It offers fresh produce
Above all, if you become a skillful gardener, you could produce high quality, fresh fruits and veg year around. This means you will save money on your weekly grocery shopping and you will know exactly where your food is coming from. It is good for the environment and you won’t need to worry about your health’s enemy – pesticides!
- It offers better immune response
When gardening, you could become immune to just about everything. First of all, the Vitamin D you get from the sunshine will protect you from getting colds and flu and improve your bone and teeth health. Secondly, getting dirt under your fingernails can actually be beneficial for you. There are bacteria found in dirty nails that can alleviate symptoms of allergies and asthma, to name these 2 conditions. It is a good proof that getting your hands dirty is really healthy! It also helps with mental health, as mentioned above in the post.
- It offers happiness and calmness
Just about anybody who enjoys gardening, will tell you about the happy feeling they get from it. In fact, this is scientifically proven. People with depression found that gardening helped them to fight it and get rid of it. To get the best effects from gardening in this way, make sure you are working with a variety of plants. Go for healthy organic food, scented flowers and decorative plants!
Now it is time for your thoughts
Has gardening helped you through a hard time? We would love to hear the tips and stories you have to share about this hobby. After all, what works for you might work for somebody else “in the same boat”, right?
