Is there any health benefits of home gardening we didn’t know about?
More than just growing a beautiful garden and making your homes feel and look fresh there’s more to it than meets the eye!
I have to admit I was one of those who clung to home gardening at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic because I want a break from just watching TV, doing online events, facing my computer for work, and doing house chores. Now that I have all the time in the world for myself I can do so many things by myself, things I would not consider before I am doing now, being a plantita is one of them.
If we have not become forced prisoners in our homes for health and safety reasons, I wouldn’t even think of gardening because I don’t have time for it back then. But aside from a break from your mundane life, being a home gardener has actually great health benefits.
Here are some of the health benefits of being a plantita you don’t know about:
What's Inside
Mood Booster
Working in dirt actually can uplift our spirits and boost our mood. There was s study in the Netherlands a few years back that was cited by a CNN report before that suggests that gardening fights stress even better than other hobbies. In the said study, participants were asked to complete a stressful task and then asked to resort to do gardening for 30 minutes. The result was that after gardening, in spite of the previous stressful activity they did their moods are better and that their blood test show low levels of cortisol.
Lower the risk of having dementia
There was a research published on Pubmed about a study done on 2805 men and women aged 60 years and older living in the community in Australia and initially free of cognitive impairment, first assessed in 1988 and followed for 16 years. The result was in 115 cases of dementia in 1233 men (9.3/100) and 170 cases in 1572 women (10.8/100).
In a proportional hazards model for dementia, any intake of alcohol predicted a 34% lower risk, and daily gardening a 36% lower risk. Daily walking predicted a 38% lower risk of dementia in men, but there was no significant prediction in women. The lowest tertile of peak expiratory flow predicted an 84% higher risk of dementia, the upper tertile of depression score predicted a 50% higher risk.
Conclusion: While excess alcohol intake is to be avoided, it appears safe and reasonable to recommend the continuation of moderate alcohol intake in those already imbibing, as well as the maintenance of physical activity, especially daily gardening, in the hope of reducing the incidence of dementia in future years.
Gardening is actually an xercise!
Gardening is actually a great form of exercise. Gardening is so fun that you become so engrossed with it that you don’t even realize you’re breaking a sweat. Repotting plants, digging dirt, reaching for various plants and tools in your designer shed , twisting and bending as you plant will work new muscles in your body and help with strength, stamina, and flexibility.
Free Vitamin D
Most of us , event indoor plantitas would position our plants near the window, the balcony or anywhere there is abundance of sun. Another health benefits of gardening is the exposure to sunlight helps us get adequate Vitamin D which help increases our calcium levelsw. Vitamin D benefits your bones and immune system.
In a study published in 2014 at the National Institutes of Health website , it was found that older adults aget adequate serum vitamin D levels with exposure to sunlight. Gardening is actually considered outdoor activity and a perfect way to get your sunshine while pursuing a fun hobby. (But don’t forget the sunscreen to protect your skin, and sunglasses for your eyes.)
Combat loneliness
Being cut from our socialization activities at work, gym or any place we used to hang-out pre-pandemic has really dampen our spirits and can be really lonesome. Finding our tribe online, those who have similar hobbies like being a plantita, helped combat our loneliness because we were able to connect with fellow plant enthusiasts, swap plants, share ideas and tips on growing a beautiful plant and home garden.