When you want to be able to exercise your green fingers and get outside into the open air, it’s easy to forget about just how much exercise the rest of your body is getting. Bending down, digging, and walking to and fro all adds up to a workout without you even realising it. Ideal when you want to be able to enjoy your time outdoors in more ways than one. To make sure you don’t overlook any of the benefits, we’re going to dive a little deeper.
Table of Contents
- 1 Sunlight gives you a natural health boost
- 2 Fresh air helps clear out your airways
- 3 Digging, repotting, and mowing is a real workout
- 4 Your mental health also gets a real boost
- 5 You can turn gardening into a family activity
- 6 The feeling of satisfaction is rewarding enough
- 7 Remember not to overdo things when it’s hot
- 8 Final thoughts
Sunlight gives you a natural health boost
Vitamin D is great for boosting your immunity and is essential to thousands of core bodily functions that power your daily life. The beauty of gardening is that it exposes you to a healthy level of sunlight, and it’s sunlight that reacts with your skin to make Vitamin D. That means simply by rolling your sleeves up and getting outside, you’re elevating your health in a way that your body is sure to thank you for later on.
Gardening is a great way to break the cycle of spending your time in the car, in the office, and in the living room. These settings are part of all our lives, but they’re also often illuminated with artificial light and bathed in the blue light digital screens emit.
Fresh air helps clear out your airways
Even if you don’t suffer from something like asthma, irritants like household dust and aerosols will be building up in your lungs. The result is constant low-level inflammation that has an impact on your health and wellbeing, even if you’re not left constantly breathless.
The key point to note here is that we humans have evolved to be moving around under the sky and breathing in the open air. Gardening is a great way to achieve this that doesn’t force you to go on an all-day hike or to completely change how you spend your free time. Getting fresh air once a day throughout the year is essential to your overall health and wellbeing.
Digging, repotting, and mowing is a real workout
Going to the gym is great, but nothing is as good as an all-body workout you don’t even notice you’re undertaking. Gardening is suitable for all ages, can be done at your own pace, and is a workout that’s ready and waiting just the other side of your backdoor. Ideal when you want to be able to take care of business in the garden while also toning up and getting your blood pumping.
You don’t want to feel the burn or be gulping down air like you would be on the treadmill, and that’s really not the point of a gardening workout. Instead, you’ll be gradually toning, stretching, and limbering up so that you have a satisfying feeling by the time you’re done. Perfect when you want to be able to gradually build up your stamina without ever having to get in the car and drive to the gym.
Your mental health also gets a real boost
The feeling of being able to look out the window and see the progress you’ve made is what gardening is all about. You’ll feel you’ve been productive, that you’ve used your time wisely, and you won’t be short on ideas that you want to follow through with.
Gardening is all about taking ownership of your day by maintaining part of your home that needs constant care and attention. It’s more satisfying than indoor housework and it can create a garden that is a real source of pride when it’s time to host and entertain your friends and neighbours.
You can turn gardening into a family activity
Get the little ones and your partner outside every now and then and they’re sure to be bitten by the gardening bug. You’ll find that the more they do it, the more they want to do it, which is great when you want to have a family activity that costs next to nothing and yet still gets everyone excited.
A second pair of hands and a fresh pair of eyes is ideal when you want to be able to tackle a bigger project and create an end result you can be truly proud of. You’ll also be able to see the difference in terms of the health and wellbeing in everyone who joins in.
The feeling of satisfaction is rewarding enough
Breaking the habit of scrolling online and watching hours of TV on the weekends is a great way to lift your mood, and the mood of the whole house. Even on those days where you don’t manage to get out into the garden, you’ll have the satisfaction that comes from seeing something you’ve recently been working hard on come to life.
Remember not to overdo things when it’s hot
If all of this sounds like the perfect way to get outdoors and become more active, a word of caution is needed at this point. Taking things easy on hotter days, topping up with suncream, and keeping hydrated will ensure you can enjoy your time outdoors even more. It’s about pacing yourself and making sure that you can achieve a real sense of balance, one gardening session at a time.
Final thoughts
Spring isn’t just the time to get the garden back in tip-top condition, it’s also the perfect time of year to take stock and build new habits. Getting a loved one off their phone and away from things like playing online casino games and endless social media scrolling really can boost their mood.