Sowing, tending to mental well-being
There is growing evidence that gardening has the potential to improve psychological well-being.
Most gardeners would agree that sowing and tending to plants is good for the soul. And, we know that gardening provides beneficial physical activity.
Now, it turns out, there is increasing evidence that gardening also has the potential to improve psychological health.
Bridget A. Hearon, an assistant professor of psychology at Albright College, said studies have shown that gardening is a favorable activity for mental health overall, and specifically has been shown to improve certain conditions.
“The benefits seem to be anything from a general improvement in well-being, to people showing fewer signs of depression and anxiety,” Hearon said.
Studies show that gardening is especially beneficial in two areas: attention restoration and stress recovery.
Developed by environmental psychologists in the 1980s, the attention restoration theory states that we are better able to concentrate and focus after spending time in nature.
Applying that theory to gardening makes sense, according to Hearon, because the activity of gardening gets us away from tasks that demand our attention and enables us to spend time in reflection and mental rest.
“It’s a little bit of a reset for your attention,” Hearon said. “It’s similar to a mindfulness practice in that it’s an opportunity to refocus your attention.”
Stress recovery is based on a theory that an activity like gardening removes a person from an environment where stressors are inevitable, providing an opportunity for recovery.
“We go through our day constantly encountering little things that stress us out,” Hearon said. “The theory is that getting away and outside removes you from that and replenishes your resources for dealing with stress.”
Attention restoration and stress recovery are increasingly important as our lives become more complicated, and we are constantly bombarded with information and attempts to capture our interest.
Theories suggest that a huge bump in interest in gardening
among people between the ages of 18 and 34 may be a backlash against the constant use of technology.
A study by the National Gardening Association revealed that while food gardening has increased overall by 17 percent in the past five years, it has increased by 63 percent among people in that age group.
Researchers have also suggested that gardening, along with most other forms of physical activity, can help to boost self-esteem, improve mood and increase attention span.
“Anytime you can get people to transition from sedentary behavior to doing something, it’s a win,” said Hearon, who specializes in clinical health psychology.
The psychological benefits of gardening are so important that the activity is used as a tool to treat vulnerable populations.
At Massachusetts-based McLean Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, gardening is used as a form of therapy for psychiatric patients.
Studies have shown that patients who work in the gardens there are able to focus their attention on what they’re doing, which helps them detach from emotional pain. There is evidence that cortisol production decreases while patients are gardening, which relieves stress.
Therapeutic gardening also has been found to be beneficial in addiction treatment, as it promotes teamwork, perseverance and self-confidence.
Just the act of caring for something other than yourself can be beneficial, psychologists have found, because it requires that you take responsibility, enables nurturing and keeps you connected to other living things.
Gardening season is just around the corner, meaning it’s time to clean up the beds, prepare the soil and get ready for planting.
This year, consider all the benefits gardening provides, including improvement of psychological health.