Grandma knew it!
This habit makes you happy, healthy and calm
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We’ve known for a long time that grandma and grandpa often do everything right. Whether it’s relationship, cleaning or kitchen tips, the wisdom is limitless! Now one of her absolute favorite hobbies is also supposed to be good for body and mind.
Gardening: Better than Sudoku
When we work in the garden, we improve or maintain our cognitive functions. According to a study from 2019, it is very effective brain training. Because we have to plan and organize a lot for our dream bed before it happens. We have to be prepared for complications such as an insect pest or a poor or too good harvest of our cucumbers or tomatoes. Solving problems is always good training for our brain: How many plants fit in my bed and which plants can I combine well with each other? These are all good ways to stimulate your brain, but please don’t let it get too hot. Planting new plants every now and then adds a cherry on top because we have to adjust to our new garden companions beforehand. How much sun or shade does the plant need, is the soil in the garden good enough for it or is the weather perhaps too cold? At some point we even think about all of this more or less automatically. Gardening does a lot more for the mind than you might think when you watch it. Which seeds actually grow in the end or which herbs stay alive with us – these are all experiences that help us move forward.
Rake and shovel will be your fitness equipment
When we garden we don’t move around very much. Driving through the garden with a wheelbarrow or using a spade to remove the annoying old tree stump from the ground is hard physical work. According to a study published in 2010, hobby gardening gives us our daily dose of exercise. This is of course good for your health and can also prevent cardiovascular diseases. By the way, gardening requires more strength and skill than we would think without having tried it. Digging, pulling weeds, transporting bags of potting soil or planting our new favorites requires sensitivity and fitness. Another plus of the whole thing: we are in the fresh air and mostly soak up the sun. As we know, this also improves our mood. But it is even more important not to forget the sun hat.
Gardening as a new form of Zen
Are people who spend their free time in the garden actually happy and relaxed? According to a 2019 study, this is true. However, we would not have expected the reason: A bacterium called Mycobacterium Vaccae or also: the Vacca bacterium lives in the soil. And instead of causing harm, it has an anti-inflammatory effect and supports the immune system. This in turn could even help with stress and anxiety, according to research. It may also affect our serotonin levels, improving our mood and making us happier. Further studies have found that gardening can not only help with anxiety or stress, but also depression. Researchers also found in 2021 that green spaces and their own gardens acted like a kind of ecological medicine for many people during the pandemic.
Sources used: Psychology Today, frontiers