It’s that time of year when, for many, thoughts turn to getting busy and dirty in the garden. What to plant, how much, when to start, what to use for fertilizer, and all the rest.
If the home gardening bug has been slow to bite you, but it’s at least starting to nibble at or in your ear, we’re here to tell you that among its many other benefits, gardening is great exercise. And that means it’s good for your health. Here’s evidence to support that claim from Gardeninggonewild.com.
- Gardening can reduce your risk of stroke as reported in “Stroke: Journal of The American Heart Association”.
- Gardening burns calories. Gardening is considered moderate to high-intensity exercise that enables you to burn up to 330 calories from an hour’s worth of light to moderate work.
- Heavy gardening helps keep your weight down reduces the risk of heart disease. Just 30 minutes of moderate-level physical activity a few times a week can prevent and control high blood pressure.
- Gardening decreases the likelihood of osteoporosis. When you dig, plant, weed, and perform repetitive tasks that require strength and stretching, your major muscle groups are all getting a good work out.
- Gardening is a stress buster. In a study in the Netherlands (as reported by CNN), two groups of students were told to either read indoors or garden for thirty minutes AFTER completing a stressful task. The group that gardened reported being in a better mood than the group that read. And they also exhibited lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.
- Being surrounded by flowers improves one’s health. In behavioral research conducted at Rutgers University, flowers were shown to be a natural and healthful moderator of moods while increasing levels of happiness, improving one’s mood, and helping to forge more intimate interpersonal connections.
- Gardening strengthens your immune system. While you’re outdoors basking in the sun, you’ll also soak up plenty of vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium. In turn, calcium helps keep your bones strong and your immune system healthy.
All that, and, depending on what exactly you grow, a season’s worth of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs to boot! So while you consider how and when to make gardening a part of your life, now’s also a great time to contact Air Professionals to have your air conditioning system thoroughly cleaned and inspected. Coming back inside to perfectly comfortable temperatures will help you feel even better about exercising, whether from gardening or any other means.