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Gardening for Wellness
A Garden Can Improve Your Total Wellness
There’s a lot in modern life that can leave you feeling drained and stressed.
Guest Post - about the author;
Maria has suffered from depression and anxiety for years. Her hobbies--like gardening--play a major role in maintaining her mental health.
See more about Maria on her website Hobby JR.
Work seems to always want more from you, and trying to raise a family in today’s economic climate is challenging at best.
No doubt that there are people in your life that depend on you. If you get burned out or sick, what then?
That’s why your overall wellness should be a big concern.
Not only will such a focus help you feel better, it can help you take care of others as well.
You need to look at your total wellness — both your physical and mental health because the two are interconnected.
How Physical & Mental Health Are Connected
These two facets (mind and body) affect each other in both positive and negative ways.
As PsychCentral explains, people who have depression or anxiety issues often have physical health problems.
That’s because you tend to neglect your health when sad.
Stress is also a major factor, as it can
hurt your immune system and lead to more colds and slower healing.
But being sick is stressful all on its own, and that can lead to mental health issues like chronic depression.
However, the reverse can be true as well.
Improving your physical health through exercise, eating right, and getting enough sleep boosts your mood and mental health. Likewise, reducing the stress and sadness in your life can help your body heal better.
Gardens Help Improve Both
New research has started to show how building and maintaining a garden can improve your total wellness by helping your physical and mental health. The AARP lists five healthy benefits from gardening:
- Exposure to sunshine that helps you create vitamin D.
- A lower risk of dementia.
- Decreased levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.
- Physical but low-impact exercise.
- An opportunity to socialize with other gardeners.
Many people spend too much time indoors, leading to a condition known as nature-deficit disorder.
Getting your hands literally dirty and spending some time outdoors has been shown to make you happier. It even helps sharpen your mind and let you sleep better at night.
Preparing Your Yard For A Successful Garden
To help improve your total wellness with a garden, you need to make sure your garden is a success. The Farmer’s Almanac has some great advice for novice gardeners. This includes:
- Plan your garden for a very sunny spot in your yard.
Alternatively, use window boxes or planters and place them where the sun
shines.
- Enrich the soil first with compost and fertilizer.
- Buy high-quality seeds or seedlings so you can see good
results more quickly.
- Space out your plants so they don’t compete for sunlight or moisture.
As you plan your garden, you also want to consider how it will look. Your neighbors might not be thrilled to have an unsightly mess of plants in your yard.
Thankfully, Redfin has an excellent list of how to grow a garden that everyone will love to look at.
- Use containers for plants like tomatoes and cucumbers
that can spread out too much.
- Pick vegetables that have flowers like eggplants,
peppers, and chives.
- Keep your tools and bags of soil in a shed or otherwise out of sight.
Let A Garden Help Your Wellness
Your mind and body are interconnected, so when one suffers, the other suffers as well. That’s why it’s so important to start a garden at home.
It can improve both your physical and mental health so your total wellness improves.
You can even make sure your garden looks great to everyone so it continues to be a source of relaxation and health for you.
There's more on vegetable gardening for beginners here.
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