This week (1 – 7 June) is Growing for Wellbeing Week. The week highlights the huge benefits that gardening and growing your own can have for your mental health and wellbeing.
Benefits of being at one with nature
Gardening or simply just being around plants in general has a range of psychological benefits.
According to a report published by the University of East Anglia, living close to natural green spaces can reduce diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and stress. Researchers also found that exposure to greenspace significantly reduces the level of salivary cortisol in the body which is a physiological marker of stress.
Real life examples
Mind, the mental health charity, provides a number of examples on its website of how gardening has helped to boost people’s mental health and wellbeing. For example, one blog post highlights how one sufferer of Bipolar Disorder was able to use gardening to improve her mental wellbeing, and even discovered a new career by becoming an apprentice gardener.
Another example is Kate, her love of gardening has helped her to tackle her battle with anxiety and depression.
Looking after your wellbeing
Getting out for regular fresh air and exercise is now more important than ever as we are now all accustomed to spending large portions of our day indoors during this pandemic which can have a negative impact on both mental and physical health.
Perhaps try growing your own fruit or vegetables, as well as benefitting your mental and physical wellbeing, you will end up with a delicious reward after a few months.
Or you could even just meet up with a friend for a socially distanced walk and chat, fulfilling our need as human animals for social interaction.
In a previous post I wrote about my tool kit for calm and the variety of tools and methods you can use to help you stay calm during the Covid-19 pandemic.
What steps are you going to take to grow your wellbeing during Growing for Wellbeing Week and during the weeks and months ahead?
As the wellbeing consultant here at Fusion Spaces and an experienced life coach, I can offer advice on stress management and life coaching. If you’d like my help or advice, please email me at jayne@fusion-spaces.com.
