How Gardening Can Help with Stress

Stress is a major problem facing all people in today's society. The new addition of 
technology that allows every moment of life to be met with some kind of interruption has 
further contributed to these conditions, so people are in serious need for relief, but how 
can a person get this relief. Studies show that having healthy hobbies can greatly 
reduce stress, and while some find it perfectly fine to absorb themselves in video games 
and other pursuits, there may be some that are looking for a more practical approach. If 
that’s the case, you should try exploring gardening!

Provides Exercise 

Even though the act of gardening in itself isn’t and extreme sport, or jogging or running, 
it involves a use of coordination, and strength to produce many of its essential tasks. 
When gardening you have to be in the sun, using your hands and moving things from 
one place to another. In general, a person may even have to lift as much as 30 or 40 
pounds. Even though activities don’t last for sustained periods, a human will experience 
a wide range of motion and activity that will easily raise their heart rate. 

Stress and Anxiety

During a study, two groups were placed in a stressful situation. After the trial had ended 
each were placed in different environments, and the group that had been sent to 
perform gardening activities was tested for levels of cortisol, a primary stress hormone. 
The doctors saw a noticeable difference in cortisol levels in the gardening group and 
were able to conclude that the exposure to the gardening environment had a pleasant 
effect on the subjects. They now believe that activities of this type can have a massive 
effect on people who are stressed out. 

New Ideas 

In an interesting twist, there are some scientists that have been testing other more 
biologically based theories about why being in the outdoors with plants can be so 
beneficial to humans. Their theory is that humans developed in nature and as such 
were exposed to a specific type of bacteria that is present in soil. 

Practical Efforts 

It’s also been observed that people gain more benefits when the actions that they take 
have a reason or purpose. This purposeful work has far reaching benefits in the brain, 
and can even help elderly people who are dealing with symptoms of dementia. 



