5 Simple Health Benefits of Outdoor Gardening

5 Simple Health Benefits of Outdoor Gardening

Gardening and spending time outdoors is great for both your body and mind in some ways that you might not notice.

However, it can make a huge difference to your well-being.

Here are just a few of the ways:

#1 - Increased Vitamin D Exposure

Because you will be spending a lot more time in the sun, you will be exposed to a lot more vitamin D than you would if you were gardening indoors or if you weren't gardening at all. 

And yes, this can do wonders for many of the systems in your body and make you feel much more like yourself.

However, you need to make sure that you are not overexposing yourself to the sun.  No matter how much melanin you have in your skin, you need to put on sunscreen when you are gardening outdoors in order to reduce the chances of sunburns, or worse, developing skin cancer.

#2 - Great Workout

Gardening is a great full-body workout, there's no denying that. Just ask any (grand)parent who's doing their weekly Saturday gardening...

From pulling weeds to reaching and trimming bushes and trees to digging holes, there is no muscle in your body that will go unworked when you spend time in the garden.

Gardening is an easy way for you to add a workout to your day, while also feeling productive about your work in the yard and without leaving home.

#3 - Improved Access to Fruit and Vegetables

One of the things that many people struggle with when it comes to their diet is a lack of fruits and vegetables because they are expensive and go bad quickly. 

Growing vegetables and other edibles is a great way to make sure that you always have something fresh and nutritious to eat just outside your door.

#4 - Improved Air Purity

Plants take in carbon dioxide and turn it into pure oxygen, which is why they are so great for the environment.

By having a large concentration of plants in your yard, you are going to improve the air purity of your area and help yourself to breathe better in the long run.

This can do wonders for those who struggle with lung conditions, and for those who don't. Cleaner air is good for all of us in the short and long term. 

#5 - Stress Relief

Working in your garden can also be a huge source of stress relief because you are working out the tension in your body, while also giving you time and mental energy to relax.

This can be a great way to meditate or think your way through whatever is stressing you out.

Taking the time to focus on a single, relatively simple task is great for making your life less stressful in general. 

All of this combined can do wonders to help you sleep by helping you to relax, wearing you out with a good workout, and improving your diet. By getting better sleep, you will have more energy to spend in your garden and on the things you enjoy in life rather than on stress and anxiety.