The Benefits of Gardening: How It Can Improve Your Mental Health

Gardening is a great way to appreciate nature and take some time for yourself. It’s also been known to improve physical health, with studies showing that gardening can help people maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. But what about mental health? Does gardening have the same positive effects on mental wellbeing? As it turns out, it does. In this article, we’ll look at how gardening can help you improve your mental health.

Stress Reduction

Gardening is an activity that’s proven to reduce stress levels. Studies have shown that spending just 20-30 minutes in a garden environment can significantly reduce stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Gardening is also a mindful activity - meaning it encourages you to focus on the present moment rather than worrying about the future or ruminating on the past - which further helps to reduce stress levels.

Additionally, gardening provides an opportunity for creative expression. Planting flowers, herbs or vegetables encourages creativity as you choose which plants will work best in your garden and combine them into aesthetically pleasing arrangements. This creative outlet helps distract from everyday worries and provides an opportunity for self-expression, both of which are beneficial for reducing stress levels.

Improved Mood

When you spend time in your garden, you’re exposed to sunlight and fresh air which naturally boosts mood levels by increasing serotonin production in your body (serotonin is a neurotransmitter that contributes towards feelings of wellbeing). Furthermore, when you’re surrounded by greenery - particularly if it’s plants that you’ve taken care of yourself - it has a calming effect and helps boost positive emotions such as gratitude and appreciation for nature’s beauty.

Research has also shown that being around nature can reduce anxiety symptoms, making people feel more relaxed and at ease when they’re outside in their gardens or parks than when they’re inside their own homes or offices. This improved mood doesn’t just last while you’re in the garden; studies have found that people who engage in regular gardening activities continue feeling better even after they’ve left their gardens behind them!

Improved Cognitive Functioning

Spending time outdoors can also help improve cognitive functioning by improving concentration levels as well as memory recall ability (i.e., how quickly we remember things). This is because our brains are wired to pay more attention to natural environments than artificial ones; so when we spend time outdoors surrounded by trees, plants, flowers etc., our brains become more alert due to increased stimulation from our environment (as opposed to spending time indoors where there isn’t much going on!).

Gardening itself has been found to be particularly beneficial for cognitive functioning; not only does it provide us with exposure to nature but it also keeps us active through tasks such as digging holes or pulling weeds - all of which involve physical movements that help keep us alert mentally as well as physically!

Conclusion

In conclusion, gardening provides numerous benefits for mental health including reducing stress levels, improving moods and boosting cognitive functioning by providing exposure to nature while keeping us physically active too! So why not give it a try? You might be surprised at how much better you feel after spending some time tending your garden!