Seven Reasons Gardening is Good for Your Health

Gardening is good for your health for many reasons. The majority of U.S. citizens spend 90% of their day indoors, which leads to an unnatural, unhealthy lifestyle, becoming increasingly sedentary and disconnected for society. Gardening gets you outdoors and active, combating many health concerns including obesity.

Here are many reasons on why spending more time in the outdoors and gardening is good for your health.

1) Reduces Stress and Anxiety: gardening can help reduce stress and anxiety by reducing lower levels of cortisol (the stress hormone). A study overseas reported that two groups that had been involved in a stressful activity either spent some time reading or gardening, afterward; reported that the group of people that spent time gardening after the stressful day were in a better mood than the group that engaged in reading a book or article after a stressful day. Cultivating marijuana in your garden will add another means to decrease stress as well as having other health benefits.

2) Workout; gardening is one of the best workouts to help burn calories without expensive workout equipment. It has been discovered that you can burn almost 350 calories in one hour with just light gardening and yard work. The National Institute of Health recommends 30-45 minutes of gardening three to five times a week as a healthy routine.

3) Lower the risk of stroke or osteoporosis; gardening is a great way to reduce the risk of stroke (as well as swimming and jogging). Digging, planting, weeding and engaging in activities repeatedly that require strength or stretching gives all the major muscle groups a good workout and leads to decreases in the likelihood of osteoporosis.

4) Happiness; in a behavioral research conducted by Rutgers, the results indicated that flowers are a natural moderator of moods and impacts directly the happiness and long term positive effects on moods. This contributes to more intimate individual connections with our loved one's making our lives much more meaningful. We begin to focus on the beauty of our surroundings which in turn allows us to experience more abundance, gratitude and pleasure in our lives.

5) Improves compassion and relationships; Spending time around plants and flowers tends to help people have a better relationship with others. Those who care and nurture things of nature are more likely to care for others as well, improving relationships and increasing empathy toward others.

6) Lowers risk of dementia; physical activity associated with gardening may help lower the risk of developing dementia. Statistics from 2 separate studies indicated that those who gardened on a regular basis had a measurably lower risk of dementia than the non-gardeners.

7) Strengthens your immune system; being out in the sun will increase your bodies intake of vitami
D which helps the body absorb calcium and helps to maintain bone mass. Calcium not only helps to strengthen your bones but also increases your immune systems overall health.

Taking into consideration all of the many benefits of gardening, others items to be mindful of are to drink a lot of water to maintain hydration while out in the sun and heat. Also, remember to apply sunscreen to help protect your skin from burning. Wearing a hat and gloves to protect your head, shoulders and hands are other great ideas to keep in mind.

If you are feeling tired or week, take a break and rest for a little while.

Adding music to your gardening experience. If the sounds of nature, the birds singing or the tree leaves wrestling in the wind are not enough to keep you moving and "entertained" bring your favorite music with you. Play it through your garden speakers or just your headphones attached to your phone or other music device. Enjoy your garden and the benefits that being out in your garden can offer!