Why Gardening Can Be a Calming Activity
I
out & about
By Sandi Schwartz
absolutely love it when we can pick fruits and vegetables grown in our own backyard and savor them at our dinner table. We are fortunate enough to have a lemon tree in our backyard, and we’ve enjoyed making our own lemon water, lemonade, and dishes like lemon chicken. We have also dabbled in growing our own tomatoes and peppers, which the children absolutely love doing. It’s a wonderful experience for them to pick the produce and play a role in creating a healthy meal for our family that incorporates the food we grew ourselves. My children and I have also gotten a lot out of volunteering in a local community garden that serves a group of special needs adults in our community. During our visits, we have helped by planting seeds, weeding, and moving around vegetable plants in the garden. The best part is that the group uses what is grown in the garden to create meals that they serve in the local café that they run. Growing fruits and vegetables together as a family can be a fun, engaging, and calming activity. In addition to the general benefits of being outside with nature, gardening offers a healthy distraction, provides a chance for some light exercise, encourages children to eat healthier, and builds community. There are also some incredible new discoveries about how soil can help improve our mood. Let’s explore why we experience these mental health benefits of gardening a bit more deeply. Now’s the perfect time to start planning your spring garden,April is the best time to plant most vegetable seeds after the last frost. Be sure to check your gardening zone for last frost dates. March/April 2022
Time Outside The natural world offers solace and comfort unlike what we can find in any manmade environment. So, spending time in nature doing activities like gardening helps reduce our response to stress and allows us to recover from tense situations more quickly. More and more studies have been coming out that highlight the health benefits of spending time in nature. Research shows that contact with nature heals because it lets us unwind and boosts our body’s natural endorphins to relieve stress. Just 20 minutes a day can help us feel more relaxed and lift our mood! Some research has even looked specifically at the mental health benefits of gardening.A breakthrough study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that a healing garden at a children’s hospital in California had positive effects on users—about 85 percent reported feeling more relaxed, refreshed, or better able to cope after spending only 5 minutes in the garden. Healthy Distraction Another reason that gardening can be so calming is that it offers a healthy distraction. suburban family | subfam.com
One study showed that engaging with a garden distracts us from our worries and stops us from obsessing about our problems. Over 12 weeks, participants saw an improvement in their mood during and immediately after gardening, and three months later they still reported significant improvements. Another study showed that after 30 minutes of gardening, participants’ cortisol levels dropped and they felt happier after the activity.
MIDWEST POND & KOI SOCIETY MARCH 18TH
CLUB MEETING
Topic: Updating or Upgrading your pond LOCATION: HOME RUN INN, BOLINGBROOK IL
APRIL 15TH
CLUB MEETING
Location: Chandler’s Schaumburg Country Club SCHAUMBURG IL “YOUR LOCAL WATER GARDENING AND KOI CLUB.” FOR MORE INFORMATION ON EVENTS & CONTACTS CALL 312-409-2081 OR VISIT WWW.MPKS.ORG
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