Our gardens means something different to each of us. It may be a peaceful haven from the rest of the world, a place to entertain family or just something to look at, but did you know that maintaining your garden can help you with your health?
There are many different benefits to spending some time in this part of your property. So here’s how you can help yourself while making your garden a beautiful space.
Reduced heart and stroke risk
If you’re looking to achieve a particular activity target each week, then doing moderate exercise such as gardening may help you to do that. A study has shown that over 60s who do gardening regularly cut the risk of strokes and heart attacks by 30%.
You can break up the amount of gardening you want to do during the week if you wish – even if you do just 15 to 30 minutes a day, that will help. There’s also the added benefit of getting to see what your activity does to how your garden looks.
Increased exposure to vitamin D
Staying inside most of the day means you probably won’t get enough vitamin D for your body. This particular vitamin is important to us as it increases calcium levels – which we need to help maintain our bones and immune system. Low levels of vitamin D may mean you’re at a higher risk of dying from heart disease, too. However, make sure you stay safe in the sun and wear sunscreen.
Boost to your mental health
There are many mental health-related conditions that can be alleviated by gardening. The physical exercise you get from maintaining your garden means you will improve your physical health, and your body will also release mood-enhancing endorphins at the same time. Knowing there’s something to do helps as well. This is because there’s the added motivation to continue caring and nurturing the plants in your garden. You can buy seeds from places such as www.naturesseed.com to make the most of your lawn and flowerbeds.
Improved diet
You don’t have to keep to just flowers, shrubs, and trees in your garden; you can even dedicate some space to grow your own fruit and vegetables. People are likely to eat the foods they grow. So eating items such as apples, tomatoes, and potatoes, which you can grow in your garden will contribute to a healthy diet.
Making your garden look good
As you start gardening, you’ll become more interested in the challenges presented to you in how to keep it looking good. It’s one thing getting it ready for summer, but you’ll need to do work all year round to make sure everything is always in order.
It might be pruning your trees at the correct time of year, or planting bulbs in time for them to flower in spring. Making your garden a pleasant place to be will benefit both your body and mind, so it’s certainly worth spending just a few minutes a day looking after this space.