The Many Benefits of Gardening to Prune Your Stress & Improve Your Health

Did you know that Sunday, June 6th, is National Gardening Exercise Day?

According to Good Earth Plant Company, "National Gardening Exercise Day encourages us to get outside, which is a healthy change of scene to start with. Work on your garden, burn off calories, and enjoy it the way Mother Nature intended. National Gardening Exercise Day highlights the important physical health benefits of gardening."

Benefits of Gardening

While gardening may not be considered a strenuous activity, it does have many benefits to your health. The first one being it allows you to spend time outside, which has even more meaning having gone through winter and the current pandemic.

Other perks to digging and planting your garden include:

• It takes your mind off ‘work’ and gives you a mental break.
• Allows you to be creative and try new things.
• Expending calories which can assist with weight loss depending on your activity level.
• You and your family will be able to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables, ones that weren’t transported hundreds of kilometers in a tractor trailer.
• You and your family can witness fruits and vegetables go from seed to harvest ready. This will help educate children on how to grow their own produce and the responsibilities involved with gardening.
• You’ll boost your mood.
• And spending time outside means getting fresh air and Vitamin D, the "Sunshine Vitamin", as it is produced in your skin in response to sunlight.

According to a recent study published by Good News Network, “gardening just twice a week improves well being and prunes your stress.”

“The study from Britain’s Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) surveyed more than 6,000 people, and results indicate that those who garden every day have wellbeing scores 6.6% higher and stress levels 4.2% lower than people who don’t garden at all.” (Good News Network)

RHS Wellbeing Fellow and Lead Author, Dr. Lauriane Chalmin-Pui, says “In fact gardening every day has the same positive impact on wellbeing than undertaking regular, vigorous exercise like cycling or running. Gardening is like effortless exercise because it doesn’t feel as strenuous as going to the gym, for example, but we can expend similar amounts of energy.” 

The next time you are heading to the garden or if you are on the fence about doing it, remember it is doing your body a heap of good!

And if you need help making your garden turn out to be a true success this year, check out our environmentally friendly gardening products – like our Foliar Fertilizer, Inspire Seed Starter, or Restore Natural Soil Builder.

Happy National Gardening Exercise Day and Happy Gardening!

Sources:

Good News Network, "Gardening Just Twice a Week Improves Wellbeing and Prunes Your Stress"

10 Health Benefits of Gardening, Canadian Living, "10 health benefits of gardening"