Studies show that just 15 - 30 minutes of outdoor activity a day boosts your health in every way! Promoting physical, mental, and emotional well-being!
You may not notice - but you’re using every major muscle group! Plus many other physical factors, both inside and out!
Gardening for your Body!
Using hand-held tools, instead of gas or electric, not only reduces your carbon footprint but also strengthens your body! It’s a full-body workout! Benefiting every major muscle group, and helps joints and increases blood circulation!
Shovels and wheelbarrows for the back, shears and rakes work the arms, lifting bags of soil and mulch for the legs, and strengthening hands with hand tools. In addition, you’re up, moving, working up a sweat and getting fresh air.
Gardening also improves:
- Balance
- Flexibility
- Range of motion
- Endurance
- It’s Aerobic!
Gardening for Mental Health:
- Quiet time - The mind wanders while pulling weeds, racing thoughts slow down. Forgetting your hectic schedule or worries, even for a brief period.
- Positive Outlook - It’s hard not to watch seeds grow or flowers bloom and not instill hope and positivity!
- Mood Boosters - Studies published about the microbe Mycobacterium vaccae, triggers the release of serotonin!
- Reduces anxiety and depression.
- Stress Reduction - Just 30 minutes in fresh air relieves stress, reducing cortisol levels!
- Empowers - Growing your own food, increases self-sustainability, and combats feelings of helplessness.
- Sensory - Gardening stimulates the senses - The smells, sights, sounds, feelings, and flavors - for a fully fulfilling experience!
- Therapeutic - Aids recovering from injury, illness or loss
Gardening for Physical Health
- Aids weight loss & increases metabolism
- Lowers high blood pressure
- Promote restful sleep
- Fights disease & illness by increasing immune system
- Recovery from addiction
Gardening for the Spirit
The feeling of getting back to your roots, feeling in tune with nature, and communing with the higher powers is important as exercise. Spending time in Nature, in a Garden like where it all began, is vital to health and well-being.
Benefits of Sunlight
Our skin works just like plants, but instead of photosynthesizing, we make Vitamin D! Even just 15 minutes a day of natural light boosts the immune system, improves mood, reduces stress, relieves psoriasis, reduces effects of Type II Diabetes, and reduces chances of some cancer!
Fresh Air!
What’s the first thing you do when you walk outside on a fresh morning? The smell of earth, air cleansed for a new day, the smell of rain, petrichor - you can’t help but take a deep breath!
Being cooped up, breathing recycled office air or stuffy air inside our homes - it takes its toll on our well-being.
Fresh air benefits:
- Immune system
- Oxygenates the body
- Fighting off infection & bacteria
- Aids the digestive system
- Triggers serotonin
- Sharpens the mind & senses
- Aids focus & concentration
- Increases energy levels
- Cleanses the lungs
- Lowers blood pressure
Get involved & socialize:
Face it, it’s hard to stop gardeners or plant enthusiasts from talking about what they love! Fight feelings of isolation and connect with kindred spirits in the process! Plus it boosts self-esteem.
- Form or join a community garden
- Share your vegetables or armloads of flowers with neighbors
- Host seed swaps
- Make new friends in gardening forums
Bonus benefits of the outdoors:
Vegetable gardening provides fruit and vegetables to further boost your health! Don’t worry about growing too much, you’ll feel great sharing what you reap with your friends and family. Plus you’ll know exactly what went into, and onto, your food!
We see headlines about food insecurity and shortages, and it can be overwhelming! Securing your family’s fresh food access can be done on any scale, and reduce the worry!
Lastly…
- Get the kids involved - Nurture a love for nature, and instill a lifelong healthy habit for young minds, bodies & hearts!
- Don’t forget bug spray, sunscreen, safety gear, a good pair of garden gloves & sunhat
- Stretch - don’t start your workout without a few stretches
- Good form - Lift with your knees
- Drink plenty of water - Gardening encourages those 8 glasses of water a day!
- Start small and start slow - If you are like me, gardening is a full-contact sport! Try not to overdo it and schedule your activities as you would reps at the gym!
- Stop & smell the roses - There’s no reason for all your hard work to go unnoticed, especially by you...take breaks and enjoy your handiwork!
- Your curb appeal never looked better & you’ll have armloads of flowers and veggies to enjoy!
Spending more time outdoors and exercising outdoors is just what the doctor ordered! For the cost of a Gym membership, you’ll get all the benefits of nature and more!
As far as hobbies go - gardening is one of the healthiest! So let NatureHills.com help you create your own Green Space and lead you down the path towards a healthier you!
