Gardening for seniors can offer tremendous health and personal benefits. It’s a wonderful way to spend additional time outdoors and enjoy the spring, summer and fall temperatures. It allows people the experience of creating (growing) something with your hands and seeing the results.
It’s an excellent hobby for seniors to take up for many reasons.
5 Benefits of Gardening for Seniors
Makes You Happy – Spending time out in the sunlight and fresh air boosts our vitamin D levels and makes us happier. This can have a tremendously positive impact, especially coming off large periods of time spent isolated or indoors.
Create Something with Your Hands – The feeling of making something or creating something on your own is a powerful one. It can bring tremendous satisfaction to grow beautiful plants, or to eat the large veggies that you grew, especially when you’re able to share garden-grown food with friends and loved ones.
Reduce Dementia – Gardening involves physical dexterity, and awareness of your actions. It’s a way to boost your critical thinking skills around the problem of what to plant, and the best methods for realizing success. These features may be part of what helps gardening to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Reduce Stress – Spending time outdoors in a calm and relaxed fashion can help you to lower cortisol levels and reduce stress. It’s a great way to put your focus on something else and engage your body in a productive hobby.
Boost Serotonin – Gardening and the resulting outdoor time boosts serotonin in your brain, which can leave you feeling calmer. If it’s a community garden, it can also foster a feeling of connectedness.
Don’t Wait to Brighten Up Your Mood (And Your Outdoors)
Gardening for seniors is a wonderful mood-enhancer. The resulting flowers or veggies can be tremendously rewarding as well. Right now is the perfect time to plan a garden, or to simply buy some seeds and start growing.
