Gardening – How Gardening Can Improve Your Health

Most people think about gardening, and the first picture that comes to mind is senior citizens in large sun hats or khaki shorts, plowing through rows worth of tomatoes in a bright spring day in a Palm Springs neighborhood. This is a common misconception, but a misconception all the same. As such, many people who are younger in years shy away from the concept of gardening simply because they incorrectly perceive it to be a senior activity that they will not be able to fit into their busy existences. However, you should be aware of the fact that there are a wide variety of different benefits that come with gardening, and anyone can take advantage of them regardless of their age. If you do it consistently, then gardening may actually make improvements in your health, not only physically but mentally as well.

Gardening regularly should be considered a highly physical activity, and so you can bet that it will help you to lose weight and tone your muscles, as well as help to reduce the risk of developing certain health problems including obesity and heart disease. It has been estimated that around 30 minutes worth of light gardening offers the same health benefits as a light workout focusing on toning your muscles and strengthening your body. Gardening can work nearly every single muscle in your body, which can provide you with an excellent cardiovascular workout that will strengthen your core while toning your muscles.

When you are gardening, you will do a variety of weight-bearing activities including pushing a wheelbarrow, pruning trees and carrying your watering can. All of these activities are going to tone your muscles over time. You will also do a fair share of squatting and bending which is going to provide you with quite a workout as well. Gardening can also improve your blood flow all over your body. Gardening is an excellent way for you to increase blood flow while improving oxygen levels system wide within your body.

There have been a number of studies that have suggested that gardening offers mental health benefits as well as physical ones. These include the alleviation of feelings of depression, reduction of stress and an improvement in general satisfaction of life as well. All of these benefits are capable of improving your health and your well being on an overall basis at the same time. The Tennessee State University recently conducted a study concluding that people gardening regularly felt the greatest benefit was the reduction of stress levels.