As a manufacturer of a raft of products, which are perfect for improving both your home and your garden, The Plastic People has plenty of insight into how gardening can be great for your health and wellbeing.
Welcome the start of summer by reading their helpful guide and become encouraged to spend the warmer weather in your garden this year:
How gardening can improve mental health
When gardening company Bakker Spalding surveyed a group of people in one of their studies, 88 per cent of respondents said that the mental wellbeing that gardening brings them was a key benefit for them to spend time in their home’s outdoor space.
Speaking to The Telegraph in regarding the positive effects that gardening can have on a person’s mental health, leading disability and gardening charity Thrive’s CEO Kathryn Rossiter pointed out:
“As well as the strong therapeutic value of gardening, it can help people connect with others, reducing feelings of isolation. It makes us more active; gaining both physical and mental health benefits.”
How gardening can reduce stress
A study titled Gardening Promotes Neuroendocrine and Affective Restoration from Stress has led to the claim that gardening is much better at easing stress than a selection of other relaxing leisure activities.
In order to reach this conclusion, those who took part in the research were tasked to complete a task that was meant to increase their stress levels. After this assignment was completed, those involved in the study were divided into two groups.
Individuals in one of the groups were kept indoors for half an hour and asked to read, while those in the other group were requested to spend the same amount of time outside doing a spot of gardening.
At the end of the 30 minutes, those who had been assigned gardening tasks outside were reported to have felt in a better mood than those who had stayed inside reading. Individuals in the gardening group also had lower levels of cortisol — the stress hormone.
How gardening can bring down the risk of a heart attack or stroke
A 12-year study headed by Dr Elin Ekblom-Bak at Karolinska University hospital's department of medicine has led to the claim that someone in the 60-plus age bracket can reduce their chance of suffering a heart attack or stroke, and prolong life by up to 30 per cent, if they carried out gardening or a spot of DIY on a regular basis.
The study, which was reported on by The Guardian, saw around 4,000 60-year-olds who were based in Stockholm, initially queried about their diet, lifestyle and inclusion in physical activity. A series of physical examinations and lab tests were also carried out. Following this, it was concluded that those seen as having an active daily life were at a lower risk of experiencing a heart attack than others involved in the research.
As the study progressed over the 12 years, it was also found that individuals who participated in regular activity reduced their chances of suffering from cardiovascular problems.
Do you garden? Did you know that it was good for your health?
(This is a sponsored post.)
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