Gardening is an activity often attributed to those older generations, but perhaps it shouldn't be. Research from 2016 in the peer-reviewed journal of Preventive Medicine Reports shows that the hobby can actually make you healthier.
Through the use of meta-analysis (a form of research where you examine a ton of different written works and studies on the subject to settle the issue) researchers discovered that 22 case studies gave credence to the idea that gardening can keep you healthy. None of the studies examined reported any significant negative effects of gardening, with most of them reporting positive effects.
But what exactly are these effects? I'm glad that you asked. Individuals who gardened had less depression, less anxiety, and a better quality of life along with higher levels of life satisfaction. Some of the case studies looked at also noted improved cognitive function which continued at least three months after the initial horticultural therapy, which suggests that this effect isn't really temporary. 7 of the studies found that, when compared to non-gardeners, gardeners had lower stress and increases in general health.
One of the things that I found most interesting is that they found "no significant difference in the characteristics or socio-economic status of gardeners and non-gardeners" (1) meaning this isn't just something that rich people can get a benefit from.
Of course, the study does mention that there is the potential for overlapping factors being responsible for the increased health. Gardening promotes physical activity (which we already know has health benefits), as well as the fact that it causes us to interact with nature.
Whether the effects are directly connected to #gardening itself, or just a combination of factors, it's no secret that we can reap some health benefits while also creating other benefits. Growing a vegetable garden can help you save money (2) and is also helpful to the environment as you don't have to rely on macro farms, and seed packets cost like a dollar.
No matter which benefits you're hoping to find, you can dig down and find at least some in the gardening world.
1. Masashi Soga, Kevin J. Gaston, Yuichi Yamaura, Gardening is beneficial for health: A meta-analysis, Preventive Medicine Reports, Volume 5, 2017, Pages 92-99, ISSN 2211-3355, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.11.007.
2. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/can_a_vegetable_garden_save_you_money
Comments