8 Ways A Home Garden Will Improve Your Health

Posted on Sep 7, 2020 | 0 comments

Whether you live in a city apartment, a country condo, a house in the suburbs or a farm and anything in between, planting a home garden will improve your health.

Gardening is not about making your living quarters look good (though curb appeal is always a plus), it is no longer just a hobby, nor is it just about growing things. An exorbitant amount of current scientific research shows us that caring for plants will do wonders for your conscious well-being. There are a lot of reasons to have a home garden and even more on how a home garden will improve your health.

Curious how?

8 Ways A Home Garden Will Improve Your Health

Gardening burns calories. It is considered a moderate-intensity exercise. The CDC reports that you can burn about 330 calories doing 1 hour of light gardening which is more than walking at a moderate pace for the same amount of time.
A home garden lowers your cortisol (your fight or flight hormone) levels and your blood pressure. Studies show that nature has a big impact on our health and wellness. Regular gardening, even just raking leaves for 30 minutes a few times a week, will lower your blood pressure and help you feel more relaxed, thus lowering your cortisol levels.
A home garden can build you and your family members’ self-esteem. Caring for plants from seed to harvest shows yourself that you can grow things and are in tune with mother nature and the earth. It will help you feel more connected and incredibly prideful that you grew something from a tiny seed and have learned a new skill in life.
Growing your own food will help you eat better, which in turn makes you feel better. It is no secret that fruits and vegetables plucked out of your garden and put onto your plate tastes 10 hundred times better than from the store, but did you realize the freshness and organic growing process of a home garden lends more nutrients to the food? A home garden will help you develop habits to ear more fruits and veg while encouraging your children to try different ones that they otherwise would not try. What child or adult for that matter wouldn’t want to try something that they helped grow?
Spending time outside is good for your bones. Spending time in the sun prompts your body to produce more vitamin D, which is the vitamin that helps support healthy, strong bones. Just don’t forget the sunscreen so you don’t overdo it!
A home garden can relieve stress. The hard work, the beauty, the miracle of growing things and being a part of that process all help you focus on something outside of yourself which naturally helps reduce stress and anxiety.
It is a great family – or community – activity. Working together to grow food and sustain yourselves as a family is a great bonding activity and helps each person feel more connected to the other. It also is a great time for talking and listening to each other.
A home garden will help you sleep better. The fresh air, the hard work, the feeling of pride and mix together for a great night’s sleep!

I really appreciate being able to make a home garden with my kids this year. It has been an amazing distraction to the quarantine and is a great way for us to connect and bond. We love watching things grow then looking up new recipes to make together with the herbs, vegetables, and fruits when they are ready for harvest!!

Cheers!

Malibu Mama Loves Xx