5 health benefits of gardening

If you're the outdoors type, you may like gardening. Whether you want to grow flowers, herbs, vegetables or fruit in your garden, there are a multitude of health benefits from this activity.

Gardening is a good way to get an outdoor workout. During gardening you squat, bend, twist, turn, reach, and pull. These motions work the muscles of your body and result in more flexibility, stamina and strength.

For an even more strenuous activity, you can pull weeds, rake leaves or manually trim hedges. All of this physical activity is aerobic exercise, and if you garden at for least 20 minutes three-to-four days a week, you will get a good workout.

The physical movements are a good cardio workout, which is good for your heart. Studies show that those who garden have a reduced risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The sun exposure on bare skin also provides a health benefit. Sunlight helps your body obtain the vitamin D it needs. This nutrient is important in keeping your heart strong and healthy.

Higher doses of vitamin D in the body reduce the chances of heart disease, certain types of cancers, osteoporosis and other health issues causes by vitamin D deficiency.

There is more indoor air pollution than most people realize. As you garden you breathe in fresher air. Also, the trees in the garden release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, so you are also breathing in cleaner air.

People who grow fruit and vegetables in their gardens are more likely to eat these foods. This means that you improve your diet by adding these healthier foods. Fruit and vegetables are filled with essential nutrients that the body needs to function at top capacity.

Gardening relieves stress. Stress is known to contribute to a host of diseases including heart problems and cancer. With regular gardening, you relax your mind and body and soothe your spirit.

Also, if you sit quietly in your garden, surrounded by nature, the scenery has a calming effect on your mind and this improves your mental outlook and your mood.

You also increase your self-esteem because you have a sense of accomplishment from all your hard work.

Gardening helps to make people healthier and feel better in a few different ways. If you have a small bit of land, taking up gardening as a hobby offers many benefits to the mind, body and spirit.