Doing gardening is a suitable thing for everyone. But some of you might think gardening is a tiresome work for seniors or elders. Actually, it is not. Gardening has many benefits for seniors. It allows them to do some physical activities as well as some socialization. Doing gardening can enhance their life. So yes, it is a good thing to do.
Now in this article, I am going to tell you some benefits of gardening for seniors. And these are:
- Exercise and burning calories
- Vitamin D
- Reduces stress and boosts mood
- Offers new social opportunities
- Keeps your mind active
- Helps combat loneliness
1. Exercise and burning calories
Gardening requires some physical movements that can help you to burn your calories. Some people even think gardening as an exercise. Studies have said, if you do 30 minutes of gardening daily, then it would fulfill all the requirements of physical activity for the seniors.
You can burn 200 to 400 calories in an hour by just only pulling and planting weeds.
Gardening requires many types of movements that help a senior to encourage to do some exercise daily. All you need to do is some bending, squatting, stretching, and pulling. These are enough to consider as an exercise burning calories.
2. Vitamin D
Everyone needs Vitamin D. It is an essential thing. It has many health benefits. After doing gardening, you can get as much vitamin D you want. It will you healthy. And the same thing goes for seniors.
Lacking vitamin D leads to fractures and osteoporosis. It especially leads to adults, which is not good.
Getting the sunshine or Vitamin D 15 minutes in a day is enough for everyone. But for adults, it is difficult for them to absorb Vitamin D. That why they need some more time. If our seniors do gardening, they don’t need any extra supplements to have Vitamin D.
3. Reduces stress and boosts mood
Doing gardening gives a positive impact on everyone’s life. Studies have shown, for adults, gardening is the best option as a hobby. It can reduce their stress.
Gardening can give a piece of mind. They can relax after doing it. It fights with stress than other things. It will support them with other mental issues in a better way.
Gardening can turn a bad mood in a good mood. It helps to keep the mind and body in sync. And it raises serotonin that can help you to calm your mind.
After watching your garden, your mood will lighten up immediately. So yes, it is a safe way to reduce stress and boosts mood.
4. Offers new social opportunities
After having a good mood, everyone loves to socialize with other people. Gardening community allows interacting with other people and allows socializing with them.
A community garden gives you a place to meet with other people. In there, you can find your old, new friends. It helps you to interact with other people. And you can get out of your comfort zone.
You can talk with the other members, sharing ideas about gardening, going to a farming market. Everything gives offers you to have new social opportunities.
It will help you to feel positiveness with the other community members. So yes, it is a safe option to interact with other people.
5. Keeps your mind active
Older peoples have a chance to suffer from dementia if they aren’t doing anything that can activate their minds. So they always have to do something that can activate their brain. And grading is the best option to keep the mind busy.
From pulling to planting, everything requires to have a plan that can help you to do the work. So yes, gardening can keep your mind active and helps you to get rid of dementia.
6. Helps combat loneliness
Do you know that doing gardening can help you to get rid of loneliness? Yes. It is true. Gardening can help you to get rid of loneliness. After getting retirement, most older people suffer from depression and loneliness. So gardening is a great way to cope with it.
Doing gardening keeps you, your body, and your mind busy. It will help you to not suffer from loneliness and depression. It makes you feel positive.
With the help of gardening, you can meet new people and make friends. You will not have to be alone. With them, you can meet and talk. Other than this gardening can distract your mind from other things. So yes, it helps you to combat loneliness.
Tips for gardening if you don’t have enough space:
Not everyone has a backyard to do some gardening. Or not everyone has got a big place to do gardening. So in this part, I am going to give you some tips and ideas about what you can do if you don’t have enough space for gardening.
- You can get some cheap raised garden beds to do your gardening in a small place. You can even make a cheap raised garden bed on your own. It is easy to make. With the help of these garden beds, you don’t need a big back yard to do gardening.
- You can make your own trellis panels. It will help you to save some space. You will be able to grow vegetables, flowers, etc on it. You can easily make this trellis panels.
- If you are a bird lover, then this idea is only for you. You can make a small garden in a large outdoor parrot cage. Some people do gardening in large outdoor parrot cages. It saves a lot of space plus you can take care of your bird while doing gardening. You can also make a DIY solar birdbath in it.
- The elevated wood garden planter also helps you to do gardening in small places. You can keep it in your veranda or a terrace. It will save your space plus you can grow many things on it.
Here is a bonus tip is for everyone. You should use an extreme crabgrass killer to make your garden beautiful and kill all the greasy weeds and crabgrass. It will keep your garden healthy.
These are the benefits of gardening for seniors. Gardening is not bothersome work. Rather than it makes everyone happy.