Gardening for Stress Reduction

When you are gardening, it takes you back to the basics of life. Being in touch with nature and being outdoors can help you feel more separated from the stressors of daily life. With the amount of time we spend indoors and deal with congested traffic, ringing cell phones, and working on a computer, getting your hands dirty in soil can give you a connection to nature. Having your piece of nature right outside your back door or balcony can help you feel some of this connection.

Scientists have known for a while now that lack of sunlight can be detrimental to our mental health. Lack of sunlight can make you sleep too much, feel lifeless, crave the foods that increase your stress level , and even make you feel depressed. (In fact, there's a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder that affects some people during winter months when there is less sunlight, especially in countries with long winters like Latvia. )

Getting out and tending to the plants in your garden will help you get more of the much needed sunlight, which will also provides an influx of vitamin D, and the fresh air and actually improve your mood!

This is huge. This is something all women need the most in order to manage stress for good. Gardening gives you time alone to work with the plants without the noise interruptions such as the television, your children, or the family animals. You can use the time to reflect on what is truly important in life. Or listen to relaxing music , while you work. Doing something as rustic as gardening may also make you more appreciative of the modern luxuries that we have at our disposal today.

Physical activity is a great way to reduce stress. Exercising releases endorphins, which are your body's own pain-killers. Endorphins create a sense of happiness and well-being. You can release powerful endorphins while working in your garden, if you plan your garden "workouts" to provide a steady level of activity.

You can create a garden workout by alternating movements while you are in the garden. When you garden, you will need to dig in the dirt, plant the seeds, then prune and harvest the plants. These activities help you build muscle, help you become more flexible, and it even helps strengthen your lungs and heart. It's clear that we all must take responsibility for ourselves and do what we can to stay healthy.

Amazingly digging can be an aerobic activity after just 15 to 20 minutes. And the best news is that digging burns 329 calories per hour. That's the equivalent of playing a doubles tennis match or waterskiing.

Gardening is a great way to relieve stress while still actually getting exercise at the same time. Your physical workout also helps boost feelings of well-being.

Take breaks as needed and if you are out in the sunshine, remember to stay hydrated.

Gardening also allows you to do something most people don't do anymore - grow your own food that decreases stress levels. There is a sense of independence and pride that is gained from growing your own healthy food, even if it is something as simple as tomatoes, peppers or herbs.

Even if you don't choose to grow vegetables, but flowers, you will appreciate the beauty and color of the flowers you have grown yourself. Plus, growing your own flowers is much cheaper than buying them and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you grew them yourself.

You can look forward to making delicious healthy meals and trying new things, avoiding the stress of grocery lines and rising food prices.

Everyone knows that vegetables and fruits are an essential part of a healthy stress nutrition, and most of us don't eat enough of them.
Just planting a simple garden could provide you with all of the fresh produce you need to improve your diet.

Fresh and organic vegetables and fruit is loaded with vitamins , and essential nutrients that you may be missing due to chronic stress.

Growing spinach in your garden (or in the containers on the balcony as I do) would provide folate, vitamin A, and iron. Add a row of tomato plants and you've added vitamin C and potassium. Red bell peppers will also add vitamin A and C. For nutritious fruit choices, add strawberries or cantaloupe.

Garden produce also provides necessary fiber for health. Fiber makes fruits and vegetables a low calorie substitute for more fattening foods. They'll fill you up while improving your health.

Stress depletes Calcium, Magnesium and B vitamin levels in your body, but you could grow vegetables in your garden that are high in essential stress vitamins and minerals. Vegetables like these include kale, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, sweet potatoes, cauliflower. Vegetables that are considered complex carbohydrates are also good, they are known for boosting serotonin, like squash, blackberries and potatoes. For more information try, Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically.

The beauty of nature is a great stress reliever in itself. Don't just buy pots of already-flowering plants. Make sure you also plant some bulbs so you get that amazing feeling seeing something you planted poke out of the soil, grow and flower.

Having your own bit of beauty available as a place for meditation, contemplation and relaxation can provide quite a bit of relief from stress. It's all part of making your home a haven from stress.