Its Official - Gardening is good for your mind, body and spirit!!
Mention the word "fitness" to most people and they immediately think of the gym. But spending hours pumping iron may not hold much appeal. So the good news is that the gym may be much closer to home than you think – in your very own garden in fact.
"You can reap almost the same health benefits from gardening as you would from a workout in the gym and it isn't just your body that gets healthier after gardening. Your mind and emotions can also improve," says BUPA's Dr Sally Cubbin.
Gardening, like other forms of moderate exercise, will help to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels if you do it for around 30 minutes per day. Exercise such as gardening has even been found to help prevent type II diabetes, heart disease and strokes.
Dr Mark Harries from the Royal College of Physicians confirms that gardening has positive physical effects. "Physical activity is always useful for the body. If it's something you enjoy – like gardening – then it's even better. It means that your exercise is not just a chore."
The Benefits of Gardening
- Power of sunlight
With the clocks going forward it provides an extra hour of sunlight which should encourage you to get up, get out and get gardening. Sunlight helps the body to make vitamin D, which is essential for healthy bones and may slow the progression of osteoporosis. Positive powers of sunlight also work on the mind.
- Physical fitness
To reap the benefits of gardening, you have to do more than just potter about. The most energetic activities in terms of calories used are digging and shovelling. If you spend 30 minutes on either of these activities, you could burn up between 200 and 360 calories. Mowing the lawn is also a high-calorie burner.
- Staying mentally alert
"Gardening takes you on a unique journey of discovery. It gives you an opportunity to exercise your mind and your hands and there's always something new to learn from your garden. Learning new skills is a sure-fire way to keep the brain alert," says BUPA's Dr Sally Cubbin.
- Reducing stress levels
Researchers at the University of Florida have found that just walking through a beautiful sensory garden, lowers peoples' stress levels. "The sensory garden is thought to have the same effects on the mind as art therapy. But it isn't just doing some gardening that reduces the stress. Soaking up the colours, sounds and smells of your garden and taking time to appreciate the peace and tranquillity if offers will also help to remove tension," says Dr Cubbin.
- Building self-esteem
A survey carried out by MIND found 50 per cent of people believed that physical exercise, including gardening, was one of the best activities to boost their mental health.
- Bringing people together
For many people gardening can provide a new and interesting hobby to discuss with new or old friends and family.
"Gardening is definitely good for your mind, body and spirit, but for those of us who may have spent much of the winter months resting in an armchair, it would be advisable to follow a few basic rules before going all out in the garden," says BUPA's Dr Sally Cubbin.
Top Tips for Gardening Safety
- Start your session with simple warm up exercises.
- Take stretches in between your exercises.
- Try wherever possible to alternate limbs as you work.
- Carry out a variety of gardening tasks and don’t overdo any one activity.
- Decide on a time limit and stick to it. It’s easy to get carried away and distracted by other gardening tasks.
- Break your gardening session into small chunks of time, ie 10 minutes pruning, then 10-15 minutes weeding, then 10-15 minutes digging, before going back to pruning. This will allow different parts of your body to work and then rest.
- Always bend your knees and keep your back straight when lifting or pulling up weeds. Squat down instead of bending over.
- Wear gloves to avoid blisters and splinters.
- Try to adapt your tools so that you are able to keep your back as straight as possible.
- In sunny weather use a sunscreen with a least a 15 sun protector factor and keep your back covered with at least a t-shirt.
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