Gardening Helps Relieve Stress by Dr. Joeseph Mercola Gardening is one of life’s simple pleasures. Even if you don’t have a green thumb, digging in the dirt, planting and nurturing plant life fills a void in many people’s lives. Some call it spiritual while others describe it as therapeutic or stress relieving. Indeed, planting a garden lets you connect with nature in a way that you probably crave, even if you don’t exactly realize it. This is why many people find gardening to be addictive — in a good way. What starts as a few flowerpots on your patio may soon morph into a flower bed or raised vegetable garden. And that’s just part of the fun. The opportunities, and the benefits you may reap, are virtually endless, from harvesting the literal fruits of your labor to creating habitat for pollinators and beyond. Why Is Gardening Good for You? Most people start gardening because they have a desire to grow their own food and/or beautify or otherwise alter their landscape (such as planting shrubs for privacy). However, most people continue gardening because the benefits are just too good to pass up. Among them: 1. Stress Relief A study published in the Journal of Health Psychology tested the stress-relieving effects of gardening among 30 people.1 First they performed a stressful task, then were assigned to either 30 minutes of outdoor gardening or 30 minutes of indoor reading. Levels of the stress hormone cortisol were measured and the participants self-reported their mood. While both gardening and reading led to decreases in cortisol, the decreases were more significant in the gardening group. Further, “positive mood was fully restored after gardening, but further deteriorated during reading.” This suggests that gardening promotes relief from acute stress. 2. Reduce Symptoms of “Attention Fatigue” It’s suggested that people have a finite capacity for directed attention (the type required for sending emails, making phone calls, etc.). When this capacity gets used up, attention fatigue sets in and you may become irritable, easily distracted and stressed. The symptoms of attention fatigue are similar to those felt by people with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), except that attention fatigue is considered a
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temporary condition that can be relieved by ample time for rest. When you immerse yourself in nature, including via gardening, you get to take a break from directed attention and instead engage in “involuntary” or “effortless” attention. This helps to relieve attention fatigue and has been linked to superior attention.2 Researcher Andrea Faber Taylor, Ph.D. in the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign told CNN:3 “The breeze blows, things get dew on them, things flower; the sounds, the smells … All of these draw on that form of attention.” 3. Improve Mental Health and Well-Being According to a survey by Gardeners’ World magazine, 80 percent of gardeners reported being “happy” and satisfied with their lives compared to 67 percent of non-gardeners.4 Perhaps it’s no coincidence that gardeners are happier. Mycobacterium vaccae is a type of bacteria commonly found in soil. Remarkably, this microbe has been found to “mirror the effect on neurons that drugs like Prozac provide.”5 It helps to stimulate serotonin production, helping to make you feel happier and more relaxed. No wonder so many people describe their garden as their “happy place.” In one animal study, mice that ingested mycobacterium vaccae had a demonstrated reduction in anxiety and improved learning. The researchers noted that natural exposure to microbes may be important for emotional health and behavior:6 “Recent studies show that contact with tolerogenic microbes is important for the proper functioning of immunoregulatory circuits affecting behavior, emotionality and health … Collectively, our results suggest a beneficial effect of naturally delivered, live M. vaccae on anxiety-related behaviors … supporting a positive role for ambient microbes in the immunomodulation of animal behavior.” 4. Benefit Brain Health A systematic review examined the impact of gardens and outdoor spaces on the mental and physical well-being of people with dementia. The research suggested that garden use, whether it be watering plants, walking through a garden or sitting in one, leads to decreased levels of agitation or anxiety among the patients.7 Spending time in a garden may also help to reduce your
Spring Splendor 2021
