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Best Health Benefits of Gardening

1. Gardening Is Great Exercise

Gardening is a great source of exercise. People will frequently get so caught up in the gardening work that they don't even realize how much their body is moving and the sweat dripping from their foreheads. Everything from pulling weeds, reaching for various plants and tools, and moving all around as you are planting will work out new and old muscles in your body and help with strength, stamina, and flexibility.

Another perk is that gardening is outside, and unless it is winter, you will probably sweat more from the sun beating how (and hopefully a gentle breeze passes through as well), which is incredible for your body to release! Isn't it wonderful to pick up an exercise that you enjoy so much you don't even consider it a workout?

2. Gardening Gives Exposure to Vitamin D

Growing up in South Florida, I never heard talk about low Vitamin D levels or needing to take supplements. Having all you'd need just from where you lived was a given, especially because so many people did spend much time outside either at the beach, parks, or walking around the streets of downtown. There was not much talk about the effects of low levels of this vital and necessary vitamin could do to a person.

In South Florida, being outside daily was a way of life. Most owned pools, bikes, bathing suits, and fishing and boating gear. In cold climates, it seems the goal is to remain indoors and run from the door, to the car, to the door in the winter. It wasn't until I moved to cold climates that this became a conversation with my doctor, amongst friends and coworkers, and something I felt as well.

Vitamin D increases your calcium levels, which benefits your bones and immune system. Studies tell us that exposure to sunlight helps people of all ages get the right amount of this vitamin. Outdoor work and play like gardening is the perfect way to get your sustainable levels of sunshine while also pursuing a fun hobby. I had to pick this up when I moved to where it was cold because I needed an outdoor activity (that was close to the front door).

Lack of vitamin D, especially the raw kind straight from the sun, can have terrible effects on a person. Things like chronic fatigue, depression, low immunity, various aches and pain, and even hair loss can be the result of lacking the big D. Get outside in the sun with gardening, and get your fill!

3. Gardening Is a Mood Booster

Gardening is a killer stress fighter, and studies have shown that it is better medicine than many other hobbies. You stress hormone does down after just a half hour of gardening. Being in nature is a stress reliever, and so is doing something relaxing yet fulfilling at the same time. If you are anything like me, you need a frequent break from stressful activities to refocus and recenter. In my case, I work from home.

This means being able to plan my own schedule, but it also means being self-motivated. Self-motivation is not easy, and I can frequently become overburdened and either work myself too hard or work myself too little because of low motivation. Both extremes can be cured by taking a gardening break midday!

Half hour for lunch and half hour for being out in the garden. Maybe this looks like getting up before the kids do to spend some time in your garden. Perhaps it means tending to it first thing when you get home from work. No matter what, using your garden as a way to relieve stress can be a huge blessing and act of self-care.

4. Gardening Is Great for Kids

Gardening can be a hobby you partake in alone, but it can also be a great chance to get your kiddos outside as well as the rest of the family! The happiness and stress relief that gardening presents is a glorious thing to share with loved ones. Another added benefit is that gardening has so many unique benefits for kids. Not only is being outside a memory that they will remember for years to come, a memory they will take into life with them.

But exposure to dirt, especially in young kids, has been linked to unmatched health benefits. We live in a nation that is very clean, and where parents are taught to hide their kids from dirt. But in reality, so many studies are being conducted to show exposure to dirt when they are kids can help them for the rest of their lives in helping to lessen allergies and build up the immune system.

5. Gardening Is Good for Your Overall Health

Gardening is an excellent activity for those who are looking to keep their hands, brains, immune system, vitamin D, and emotions all healthy. As we get older, the reason we come up against health issues is usually that we have not used our bodies enough. As the saying goes, if you don't use it, you lose it. This is the truth! Gardening gets all these various components moving and healthy.

Gardening is great for keeping the hands strong. There is nothing better than digging in the dirt for strength, and this also puts a battle up against any issues with hands as you age, such as arthritis.

As for brain health, when we use your minds, that is how we keep this strong. It is good to always be learning new skills and growing. Whether that be a card game, a crossword puzzle, reading a new book or taking a class, learning is the thing that keeps us sharp. This does not just end when we get out of school!  

Our immune system is aided by the healthy dirt, which is great for the immune system, believe it or not! Just as the flowers, fruits, and veggies are helped by the dirt, so are we. It is a type of vitamin to us (unlike our culture tells us).

Another way our immune and overall health systems are aided is by the beloved vitamin D, as we talk about previously. Get that sunlight if you wish to be healthy!

As far as emotional health, spending time outside in the beauty of nature is calming, relaxing, gives a sense of purpose and joy, and can help you cope and move forward from hardships in daily life.