Is gardening good for your physical health?

The whole digging, planting and weeding thing burns calories and makes your heart stronger.

Gardening

can reduce stress and mental clarity, while helping to prevent everything from coronary heart disease to colon cancer. While gardening may not be a high-intensity cardiovascular sweat test, it still provides powerful heart health benefits. Working in a garden with people of different ages, abilities and backgrounds is a way to expand both what you know and who you know.

Meta-analytic estimates showed a significant positive effect of gardening on health outcomes for both all subgroup studies and all sets of studies, while effect sizes differed between eight subgroups. And researchers at the University of Pennsylvania reported that people who work in the garden are more likely to sleep 7 hours a night. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you can burn about 330 calories by doing an hour of light gardening and yard work more than walking at a moderate pace for the same amount of time. In another study, people participating in an addiction rehabilitation program were given the opportunity to participate in natural recovery, where they were allowed to choose art or gardening as a natural therapy.

In addition to the physical exercise you'll do to care for an orchard, a productive plot can also promote a better diet by providing fresh and healthy products. In one study, students who participated in school gardens took photos of their work and shared what they had experienced. Studies in the United States and abroad have found that gardening improves mood and increases self-esteem. However, new evidence shows that gardening activities can stimulate the growth of nerves related to brain memory.

To start your gardening adventure, visit Better Homes and Gardens or the National Gardening Association for helpful tips on the many varieties of plants and flowers available. That's why outdoor activities like gardening are a perfect way to soak up the sun while engaging in a fun hobby. If you're digging, hauling, and harvesting, your physical strength, heart health, weight, sleep, and immune system all benefit. The American Community Garden Association offers a location tool for finding the nearest community garden.