How Gardening Can Improve Your Mental Health
How Gardening Can Improve Your Mental Health
May 23, 2018
In what ways can gardening improve your mental health?
- A source of stress relief
- Improved overall mood
- Decreased loneliness
- Improved self-esteem
- Enhanced brain function
It’s common for Filipino homeowners to have gardening tools as the Philippines’ climate allows the growth of many unique species of plants you cannot find in other regions of the world. Thus, many have taken to gardening as both a hobby and a means to enhance their homes’ overall aesthetic quality.
Measuring tools? Check. Shears and spades? Check. It’s simple and it’s a process, but have you ever stopped to wonder if the only purpose of practicing horticulture is to keep your house pleasing to the eyes?
Well, there’s the obvious fact that it is good for the environment but you may not be aware that gardening also has benefits to your health—your mental health to be precise. Gardening does both your home and you yourself a huge favor, but if you’re wondering how exactly it aids in your brain’s capabilities, then continue reading.
A Source of Stress Relief
Life is continuously throwing at us problematic situations and no matter how much we wish for it to just stop, the reality is that it won’t. Stress is never good for your overall health but fortunately enough, there are hundreds of different ways to manage it, with gardening being one of them.
Nurturing a plant is, by no means, an easy task, but it is actually pretty relaxing. It’s just you attending to the little living things in your front or backyard one by one, without having to think about a boss to please or a deadline to beat.
Sure, you’ll be facing more stressful circumstances as time goes along, but the garden you’ve given time and effort to will always be there to remind you to always find time to give yourself a break.
Improved Overall Mood
365—sometimes 366—days make up one year. You can expect maybe around 50 of those to be bad days and while the chances aren’t really high, a bad day is a bad day. Sometimes it’s just the way you woke up, and sometimes it’s because something you didn’t like happened in the morning.
Gardening can provide you little yet significant satisfactions that can change your entire day ahead of you for the better. Whether it’s the pleasing feeling you get when you see your gardening tools spotless or the perfect shape of a plant you’re particularly interested in, you can’t deny that it helps.
Decreased Loneliness
The feeling of loneliness is something that lies inside every human because, truth be told, we can’t be laughing all the time. However, there are ways to keep this negativity in check such as by surrounding yourself with people you enjoy being with, comedy shows, and—you guessed it—gardening!
Aside from keeping you busy for a good amount of time, gardening also gives you something to look forward to—the fully grown and magnificent versions of the tiny plants you are caring for now.
One of the main reasons why people become lonely is that they dread the thought that tomorrow isn’t going to be any different than today, and gardening alleviates that.
Improved Self-Esteem
Many would argue that having low self-esteem is a phase that all people eventually outgrow but if you would pay closer attention, you will see that this argument is more inclined to the “false” side. The majority of people in such a predicament are always in a state of self-loathing, stemming from the belief that they aren’t making a contribution to the world.
Like a parent who feels a sense of self-fulfillment when her child finally learns to walk, a gardener who has witnessed her seeds sprout into beautiful plants realizes that she is a positive force in the world.
Enhanced Brain Function
As a person ages, the body slowly becomes less and less impressive than it was decades before. This process, sadly, can be further sped up if one neglects to care for his or her own body. To prevent this, both physical and mental exercises should be performed. Gardening can fit in both categories.
An example of gardening activities that benefit your brain function is the act of utilizing measuring tools which keeps your attention to detail sharp. Another one is the use of shears in cutting down grass, which improves both your hand coordination and strength.
The art of gardening slows down the body’s natural deterioration which is something millions of people desire but can’t identify what to do in order to achieve.
Key Takeaway
If you have some space in your yard and gardening tools in the Philippines, then it’s time to get started on gardening. It affords great benefits to your home, the environment and to yourself, so it would be an excellent idea to plant some seeds.
It’s going to be some work, but before you know it, the plants you invested in will be in top shape—and so will your mental health.
