Gardening makes you a creator! You observe, design and experiment utilizing your skills to create a soon to be masterpiece – you pray!! Gardening requires much patience and hope. Not only do you get the satisfaction of your end result but gardening can bring many health benefits for older adults.
6 Health Benefits to Gardening:
- Relieves stress and anxiety. Studies have shown that gardening can lower the stress producing hormone cortisol levels in your brain
- May reduce the risk of dementia! There have been many studies indicating that those who stay active may actually improve their cognition. Researchers found that horticultural therapy may also be effective treatment for people with dementia.
- Good exercise! Gardening gets the body moving! Planting and pulling weeds, bending, stretching and squatting are all great ways to strengthen your muscles.
- The physical exertion, relieving stress and anxiety – that can help you sleep at night!
- HAPPINESS! Fresh air and sunshine – Did you know that you can get more vitamin D from sunshine than your daily glass of milk? Friendly reminder: while the sun has some benefits, please be sure to protect yourself from harmful UV rays by wearing sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat as you garden.
- Feelings of connection come from community gardens: nature has a way of bringing people together to share the fruits of their labor and the satisfaction of growing a community.
Brewster Place has resident garden plots that bring colorful flowers and fresh vegetables to our campus every year. So, take the time to smell the flowers, sow a garden and share outside time with others, you’ll be glad you did.
Please share what your favorite thing about gardening is 🙂 If you are interested in gardening and do not know where to start, feel free to comment or ask.
Have a peachy day and don’t forget to smile!
Chelsy
Sources
10 Benefits of Gardening, Plus Helpful Tips & Recommendations (healthline.com)
