5 Ways Gardening helps your Anxiety
1. Decreases the neural activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex.
This is the area of the brain associated with rumination. Which is when your brain gets stuck thinking about the same negative things over and over. In turn this decreases the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
2.When you are in your garden you can practice being aware of the present moments.
This is known as mindfulness. You will notice the different shapes and colors of the leaves, the different stages of the plants, and all the different colors: mindfully thinking of how much water, what needs pruned, when and how to prune your plants, and even where to plant and space everything.
3.By gardening you are working out and getting some aerobic exercise.
Many studies have shown the benefits of physical activity on reducing anxiety. When you are weeding, harvesting, raking, planting, and moving plants and soil around you are using a lot of muscles.
4.Gardening can be a natural remedy for relieving stress that causes anxiety.
Being able to create something from just one small little seed is satisfying and can help us get out of a stressful and anxious time.
5.Why Garden?
Many things can have great effects on your mental health; However, many studies have shown how green spaces such as gardens not only decrease anxiety but enhance many other factors of your life. Some of the effects increase efficiency during you work and have helped people with PTSD.
Written by Noah Fleming
