Page 35 - The Brain Health Guide

THE BRAIN HEALTH GUIDE
Gardens can keep you grounded, quite literally by forcing
you to slow down and smell the roses. When you are doing
repetitive garden tasks like weeding, digging, pruning and
pushing wheelbarrows around, you also benefit from low-
impact exercise.

Research has shown that whether you are caring for flower beds
or vegetable gardens, you may be doing more than keeping
your plants healthy and productive. You may be improving
your brain health.

A Proven Method
It’s been found that gardening has a positive influence on
the mind. In studying two gardening groups, the first in their
60s, the second group in their 70s, it was concluded that both
groups experienced cognitive benefits from gardening. These
studies found that 36 percent of 60 year olds and 47 percent of
70 year olds had improved mental benefits compared to those
who didn’t garden.

Gardening has also been shown to improve your mood and
alleviate stress. No matter how big or small your garden may be,
the sights, smells and sounds of being outside simply watching
your garden grow can give you needed relief from stress.

Stress-Free Gardening
Stress reduction has been studied in the Netherlands by
comparing reading indoors with 30 minutes of outdoor
gardening. The gardeners reported they felt less stress than the
people who took time out to read during the same time frame.
The sensory experience of gardening can also help improve a
negative outlook.

Keep in mind that gardening for pleasure is good for
downgrading stress, but only if you’re not too invested in the
outcome. Gardening is only as stress-free as you make it. If
you’re constantly worrying about whether your new plants will
be the best-looking flowers or produce in the neighborhood,
you won’t gain health benefits that many people experience
when they “play outdoors.”

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