Gardening is an excellent way to get closer to nature. Growing your own food can be a healthy and smart way to live.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an unprecedented fear about the availability of food products.
People began hoarding food products thus exhausting the products on the shelves. Such pandemics and calamities are bound to occur and having self-gardening access can be essential. Furthermore, gardening is closely linked with many other factors in our lives from economic and environmental issues to individual health issues, both directly and indirectly.
Working with others in the garden has great benefits
Gardening for Health
Gardening calms and nourishes not only our physical health but also our mental health. Everyone gets a strange peace and calm when you visit a place filled with nature, bountiful trees and plants.
Anyone who has ever planted a seed knows our hearts and minds are always captivated by the smallest accomplishment when we plant a seed and see it blossom into a beautiful flower. Also growing your own food is always good for your health. Eating from your garden can help you boost your intake of fruits and vegetables and limit your contact with pesticides and lets you practice eating an in-season diet.
We give you five important benefits of gardening at an individual level as an exercise:
1 – Gardening helps Burn Calories
Gardening generally consists of rolling up your sleeves, digging, cutting, planting, and weeding season after season. This may sound simple but gardening is considered one of the most intensive exercises.
Gardening is excellent as a physical activity because it consists of moving all your muscles and joints. The result is an excellent workout routine. Gardening acts as an exercise which helps release endorphins which make the body feel good. Endorphins can help you to have a more positive outlook on life and to feel better after your gardening.
Although a lot of people now use cordless electric tools, such as the GTech mower, moving around your garden is still a great way to increase your physical activity and important for your health.
2 – Gardening and Vitamin-D
Consuming natural organic garden foods provides essential vitamins and minerals but also since gardening is an outdoor activity sensible sun exposure can be a source of vitamin-D for children and adults.
That’s important because vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium for stronger bones. Research shows that vitamin D protects against heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases.
Vitamin D is essential for your immunity as are some of the vitamin supplements you need. Get to know about some of the best Eidenberry supplements at Total Shape.
Enjoy extra Vitamin D when gardening in the sunshine
3 – Gardening and Blood Pressure
Eating the harvest from your gardening efforts can be an excellent way of regulating your blood pressure.
Consuming a healthy dose of green plants and vegetables may regulate your blood pressure. A compound called quercetin has been shown to be effective for reducing blood pressure. But even the process of harvesting/gardening can help regulate your blood pressure.
Taking time out in the garden can reduce stress and blood pressure
We are constantly working under high-pressure deadlines and stress to make ends meet. Pursuing a gardening hobby helps you escape from all this into your own world as you step away from everyday life and turn to nature where you will find peace and relaxation. This combination of escaping from everyday work and eating healthier can also lead to blood pressure reduction.
4 – Gardening as an Outlet for Stress
This might seem odd but gardening can be transformed as an outlet from your stress. We all need to let off steam from time to time and gardening is a natural way to do that.
Now, we know that gardening is a physical activity but the degree of physicality depends upon each individual. Participating in a more strenuous gardening activity can act as an outlet to relieve your aggression and frustration. Setting a time frame and setting a goal for the day can be beneficial since your stress works out will be regulated.
5 – Gardening as an Exercise Therapy
Horticultural therapy or gardening therapy is a professional practice that uses plants and gardening to improve those dealing with addiction. When a person is struggling with illicit addiction, their life is surrounded by a particular environment which only deters their ability to escape.
By adopting gardening as a therapy, they find a new world and become more productive by engaging their time towards a different environment.
Natural ingredients in the garden help calm and relax the mind and body
This type of exercise therapy also generates a sense of community, wherein people discuss and see their own progress by developing new ways to enhance their productivity by talking and interacting with other gardeners.
The points raised above are just some of the many benefits that can be found from taking up the hobby of gardening. There are lots of benefits which can be achieved, especially if you use it daily as an exercise habit, too.
Gardening can surely be a good hobby to pursue. Sustainable gardening improves people’s quality of life by providing a catalyst for neighbourhood and community development, stimulating social interaction, encouraging self-reliance, beautifying our neighbourhoods, producing nutritious food, reducing family food budgets, exercise, therapy and much more.