5 Reasons Gardening is Good For Your Health

Growing your own garden – whether it’s indoors, in your backyard, at the schoolyard or part of a plot in a community garden – can do more than provide tasty produce and beautiful flowers. There are some major health benefits to getting a little dirt under your nails. Here are five reasons to get a green thumb:

1. You’ll boost your mood.

If you’re feeling a little blue, don’t reach for a glass of wine or eat a gallon of ice cream – grab your shovel and head to the garden instead. Gardening has a wide range of mood benefits, such as reductions in depression, anxiety and anger, as well as increases in happiness, according to a study published in Preventive Medicine Reports. And Dutch researchers found that gardening can also fight stress better than other relaxing leisure activities like reading. Looks like gardening is your mood-booster in a pot.