Did you hear about the gardener who had a wheelbarrow full of four-leaf clovers? He was pushing his luck.
Luck might be one factor in gardening, including a gardener’s good health, but the health benefits of the activity are well-documented far beyond luck.
Following are effects of gardening on our health, some of which might be surprising.
- People who garden regularly have a significantly lower body mass index than non-gardeners, according to a 2013 study published in American Journal of Public Health.
- In the same study, the average weight loss was 11 lbs. for women and 16 lbs. for men after a year of participating in a community vegetable garden.
- Gardening can cut the risk of a heart attack or stroke by 30% in adults over age 60, according to a 2013 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
- A 2016 Harvard study involving more than 120,000 women in the United States found that exposure to a green natural environment makes people live longer and lowers the mortality rate by 12%.
- Kids who were introduced to gardening ate more fruits and vegetables, according to a 2017 study published in the Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
- Gardening provides a whole-body workout, according to the American Society for Horticultural Science. “The goal-oriented activity entices you to stay in the workout for a longer time and therefore reap more benefits of the aerobic activity.”
- Working with plants provides serious stress relief, demonstrated by a 2016 NASA study by scientists who discovered that working with plants kept astronauts sane and happy in the severe environment of outer space.
- Exposure to the beneficial soil bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, enhances the human immune system, reduces inflammation, and aids in stress resiliency.
- Hand coordination and strength are increased by gardening activities like planting and pruning.
- Gardening can restore faith in the future because it requires a leap of faith, trusting that our efforts will produce growth and change. When that faith becomes reality, it helps carry hope and optimism into everyday life.
- Gardening sharpens the brain. In a 2019 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, researchers measured brain nerve growth in study participants, all older adults, before and after they created a vegetable garden and found that their brain nerve growth had increased significantly.
- Gardeners become lifelong learners because there’s always something to learn about new plants, varieties and techniques.
- Daily gardening can lower the risk of dementia by 36%, according to a 2006 study published in the National Library of Medicine, in which researchers tracked more than 2,800 people over the age of 60 for 16 years.
- In a multi-year study published in 2011, people with depression participated in a gardening intervention for 12 weeks, after which researchers measured several aspects of mental health, and found that all were significantly improved.
- Numerous studies have shown that working with plants is an effective rehabilitation tool for those recovering from addictions.
- The health effects of gardening are both immediate and long term.