How Gardening Can Improve Your Physical and Mental Health (and Our Planet’s Health, Too)
- Shwetha Ganesh Prabhu
- Aug 5, 2020
- 4 min read
When you look out your window at a flower or smell the fragrant aroma of a bouquet adorning a living space, how does it make you feel? Do you feel calm and at peace? If so you might agree that plants have the power to heal. It has been proven that interacting with greenery, both indoors and outdoors is beneficial to mental and physical health. But have you ever thought about why this might be?
As American Botanist Luther Burbank once said,
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine for the soul.”
The idea that humans can benefit from engaging directly with the natural world is wisdom that has been handed down through generations and has its roots in the pioneering and rugged love that settlers had for the environment. In fact, there is also a lot of research to back it up.
One reason that gardening is believed to be good for us is that it is both a physical exercise and creative art that allows us to express ourselves. Both release a feel-good chemical called endorphins. Gardening is also a way of nurturing life. Sometimes the satisfaction of caring for, keeping an organism alive, and observing it grow are responsibilities that bring gardeners a sense of pride and purpose.
People of every age and skill level can enjoy the benefits of planning an attractive garden, making a space “green” and captivating, can alleviate living in urban environments; truly, gardening is one way to experience the beauty of nature.
Mental Health Benefits
It relieves stress. Gardening is proven to lower cortisol levels which cause stress and increase blood pressure. It also increases serotonin which is known to make people feel happy.
Improves Mood. According to a recent survey, 79 percent of patients said they felt more relaxed and calm, 19 percent felt more positive, and 25 percent felt refreshed and stronger after spending time in a garden (journals.sagepub.com).
Increases Attention Span. For example, a study published in the “American Journal of Public Health” examines the impact of green or natural settings on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Researchers found activities carried out in green settings significantly reduce symptoms of ADHD compared to other settings.
Boosts Self Esteem. Any gardener feels proud when they harvest the produce they planted or when their seed blooms into a beautiful flower. It gives them a sense of self-worth.
Physical Benefits
Improves Air Pollution. The majority of urban residents inside, even more so now due to the CoronaVirus. Air pollution indoors can be several times higher than outside. Scientists have identified over 300 toxins in indoor air called volatile organic compounds, which indoor plants help remove.
Lowers Disease Risk. Greenery helps reduce the risk of irritating airways, runny noses, and itchy eyes. Indoor plants are proven to reduce dust and increase the humidity in rooms. Gardening indoors increases the homeliness of a house and decreases the risks of catching an illness.
Promotes Healthy Eating. Parents everywhere struggle to get their children to eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies daily. Gardening promotes adding healthy, homegrown produce to your diet and helps you break free from deficient eating habits.
Encourages Exercise. A vast majority of American adults and children do not get the exercise they need. Lack of exercise can lead to many life-threatening diseases later in life, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and depression. Gardening is a fun and engaging way to incorporate exercise into your daily routine.
Gardening is especially important because it is a way to give back to the planet. More and more communities and individuals have been gardening in attempts to broaden the scale of environmental benefits. Still, you may be asking, how does work in a single garden factor into the big picture?
Environmental Benefits
Reduces Pollution. Pollution is a harmful byproduct of the large scale harvest of fruits and vegetables. Not to mention the pollution that occurs during the transportation of these goods. An easy solution is to grow your own produce at home which can reduce the amount spent on farms and stores.
Increases Wildlife Population. Gardens attract and give a habitat to wildlife that hasn’t adapted to paved cities yet. This way fauna such as bees who play an important role in the environment can keep pollinating and stay on this Earth for centuries to come. Adding a bird table to your garden creates a sanctuary for birds to gather and access food easily, and brings pleasure to bird lovers.
Reduce Erosion. Roots of plants help hold soil in place and prevent breakdown and erosion. Keeping soil erosion maintained will also keep soil off city streets, keep harmful algae and weeds from growing, and provide a healthier environment overall.
Improves Air Quality. Growing plants indoors and outside is proven to help fight air pollution. Plants in the garden take in CO2 and release oxygen, improving air quality.
Lessen Landfill Waste. Growing your food and composting the waste instead of sending them off to landfills could detrimentally reduce the size of landfills. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 20 percent of what goes into municipal landfills is food. More food waste ends up in landfills than paper or plastic.
During this age of COVID-19, more and more people have begun to turn to the garden as a way to relieve stress and make good use of this time. We’ll come out in the end — hopefully, everyone will be eating better and gardening more and more self-reliant. Only time can tell if gardening is just another way of killing time during quarantine or if it’s something that will last past this pandemic and change the way the world eats.
Sources
Websites
7 K. May, and Stacey BayleyMay 26. “Benefits of Gardening for Mental Health.” David Domoney, 1 May 2020, www.daviddomoney.com/benefits-gardening-mental-health/.
Gerlock, Grant. “To End Food Waste, Change Needs To Begin At Home.” NPR, NPR, 17 Nov. 2014, www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/11/17/364172105/to-end-food-waste-change-needs-to-begin-at-home.
Books
Gross, Harriet. The Psychology of Gardening. Routledge, 2018.
Stuart-Smith, Sue. The Well Gardened Mind: Rediscovering Nature in the Modern World. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2020.
Podcasts
Young, Chris, editor. “Gardening for Mental Health, Houseplants on the Rampage and Roy Lancaster’s Garden.” The Garden Podcast, Royal Horticultural Society, Jan. 2020, podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/january-2020-gardening-for-mental-health-houseplants/id1436836269?i=1000459400351.
Originally published at https://medium.com/linens-n-love/how-gardening-can-improve-your-physical-and-mental-health-and-our-planets-health-too-fb19878cb27con July 28, 2020.
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