THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF GARDENING There is growing awareness of the ways that gardening and green spaces can improve physical and mental health. Getting active by gardening is a healthy hobby which helps us to adopt a better lifestyle, lowers our body mass indexes and connects us with nature. Also it’s been proven to generate a sense of fulfilment that can boost social well-being, reduce isolation and help in mental health recovery. Natural Health Service We all know the NHS is currently under strain and with people now living longer will continue to put pressure on the government’s healthcare budgets. However mental health and social anxiety is also high on the agenda with a Mind Charity study published revealing that over 1 million antidepressants are issued weekly in England. Doctors are starting to prescribe gardening and horticultural therapy to its patients as it has been proven to improve mental wellbeing and physical health and the role it can play as the ‘Natural Health Service.’
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Physical Health A survey commissioned by RHS, has revealed that 80% of us gardeners say gardening as a physical activity helps to keep them fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It Just takes 1-2 hours of gardening a day to reduce stress hormone levels, lower blood and cholesterol levels, reduce your risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and strokes, and prevent other chronic diseases such as osteoporosis. Mowing the lawn was cited as one of the top three activities to give the best fitness workout, burning up 250 calories in an hour, whilst digging or raking plant borders and vegetable gardens for 30 minutes requires as much energy as a 2km run. A good natural landscape has been shown to improve your overall mood, reduce anxiety, boosts the immune system and lessens social isolation, as well as strengthening bonds in community gardens. A recent study online by YouGov for the HTA revealed that 87% of British adults believe gardens and green spaces benefit their state of mind.
