Gardening offers health benefits for brain, body
COVID-19 is still around. Hopefully you found time to plant a garden this year and learned how to preserve your precious fruits and vegetables for later eating enjoyment, all while skipping the trips to the grocery store and thus saving you money. I bet this will become a yearly tradition. And . . . your health will improve.
Let’s examine some of the ways:
The first health benefit is getting outside and into the fresh air. Vitamin D is so important to increase calcium levels that will benefit your bones and immune system. Outside gardening is perfect for getting exposure to sunshine. But remember the sunscreen and sunglasses for protection. Of course the most obvious is you will eat better by growing your own food. It will be fresh and most likely free from pesticides.
If your trips to the gym for lifting weights and practicing yoga is your best idea for boosting your flexibility and balance, gardening can do the same but with zero the cost.
Is eating anything “green” off limits for your children. Why not give them a small plot and let them grow their own vegetables? Here is the perfect segue to getting them to eating healthy and cleaning their plate.
And what about weight loss?
Did you know that by growing your own vegetables you lower your body mass index and leave the overweight category. Researchers have found that carrying mulch bags, pushing a wheelbarrow, hoeing, picking weeds, planting seeds, toting your gardening equipment, moving pots, pushing a mower, and all the other gardening tasks suggest that women can lose 11 pounds and men 16 during the growing season.
This is truly the whole-body workout or exercise with a purpose. The goal-oriented activities entice you to stay in the garden longer and therefore you will reap even more benefits from the aerobic activity.
Can you spot the gardening glow on certain people? They are the ones who work with plants because gardening provides serious stress relief and positive sensory stimulation. Having dirty fingernails may be a sign of poor hygiene, but it could be a benefit to good health. Inhaling the healthy bacteria that lives in soil can increase levels of serotonin and reduce anxiety – giving that gardening glow.
Gardening can also cut the risk of a heart attack or stroke and prolong life by 30% – sound good to you? These benefits come from the stress reduction of playing in the soil (dirt). You are reconnecting with the natural work of pruning, weeding, and watering which provide a cathartic experience. It can be tending to a small plant on your desk or taking on a big project like a vegetable garden in your backyard. Put yourself in a green, growing, healthy environment and cut your risk of heart disease. Sound like a plan?
With all the talk of climate change, individuals can make a difference. Recycling, carpooling, using energy-efficient appliances, and driving hybrid cars are all good examples, but you can help right in your own backyard by producing gardens that provide vital green space to reduce greenhouse gasses, lessen the need to buy things, recycle kitchen waste, and contributing many other positives for our planet.
Hand strength, flexibility, and coordination are all essential for everyday tasks like opening jars, carrying packages, and picking up your precious grandchildren. Gardening is the perfect way to hone these fine motor skills and muscles. Just a few minutes of daily weeding may even help offset some of the strain caused by repetitive use like typing or phone swiping.
It is said that gardening gives you hope for the future. By planting a seed and watering it there is faith that the seed will send roots into the soil to support stems and the leaves above. Gardening can boost your confidence by being proud of the harvest.
One of the best benefits of gardening is that it sharpens your brain. Researchers measured brain nerve growth factors related to memory in a study. Participants, all seniors, were evaluated before and after they created a vegetable garden. The study found their levels of brain nerve growth had increased significantly. The most surprising benefit of gardening is the capacity for gardeners to become lifelong learners. Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?
Susan La Fountaine is a Master Gardener with the Ohio State University Extension Offices in Sandusky and Ottawa counties.