In addition to filling the free time, gardening activities and maintaining plants apparently have tremendous benefits for our health, you know. What are the benefits? Let’s find out here.
Planting activities are the activities that can be used as a hobby by anyone. Not only liked by women, this activity is also much loved by men. By gardening and farming, you can plant and maintain plants that you like, ranging from various types of flowers, vegetables, to fruits.
Although not all houses have a yard for planting them, gardening can still be done in the style of urban farming, namely by utilizing flower pots, used plastic containers, or using a soilless planting system (hydroponics), and so on. Whatever the place and the media, gardening and nurturing plants have benefits for your health.
Gardening isn’t just a fun relaxing activity. However, gardening can also have an impact on the health of the body. The benefits, like the health benefits of gardening for adults, will even be very direct, especially for those who are beginning to enter old age.
According to a study, indulging in gardening may not only keep parents active, but also improve their health and mental well-being. The findings showed that elderly people who spent more than three hours doing household chores a day and slept less than seven hours a night, tended to be unhealthy.
However, the researchers found that similar criteria had no effect on the health of elderly men who liked gardening.
That’s because elderly women spend more time doing repetitive housework such as cleaning, and cooking activities, while elderly men spend time in more casual and enjoyable jobs such as gardening and caring for plants, as well as caring for favorite objects that mentally stimulate the body to become more relaxed.
As mentioned in the benefits of gardening, the hobby of gardening has a lot to offer in terms of therapy, especially for the elderly. Gardening can improve a person’s skills. There are many benefits that will be learned from parents when they do this habit.
Actually, this activity is not only for parents at home, you can also enjoy it. It’s just that young people don’t really bother too much for dirty and exhausting things. Let’s see, what are the benefits of gardening for the seniors?
Health Benefits of Gardening for Seniors
1. Increases Endurance
Gardening activities are usually done outdoors. When gardening, your body will be exposed to sunlight. Sunlight, especially in the morning, produces ultraviolet or UV rays that when it touches the skin will be converted by the body into vitamin D.
Exposure to the morning sun for a few hours (8-10 o’clock) will give parents more vitamin D than a glass of milk each night. This makes vitamin D a natural compound made without any artificial additions.
Vitamin D has an important role to play in maintaining your immune system, so you don’t get sick easily. In addition, this vitamin is also useful to increase the absorption of calcium which is useful to strengthen your bones, you know.
However, make sure you use sunscreen or a hat to keep your skin from sunburn. Similar to the health benefits of tai chi, it could also make yourself stronger as well.
2. Repels Saturation and Stress
The dense activity in the office or the same routine every day can make you feel easily bored and stressed. Well, to get rid of those feelings, you can try gardening activities.
Growing plants that you like and see its development every day, ranging from the growth of buds, leaves, flowers, to fruits or vegetables that you can harvest, can make you feel happy and proud.
Not only that, exposure to sunlight when you grow crops or just water your favorite plants can also trigger the brain to release the hormone serotonin, which is a hormone that can improve your mood. So, with this simple activity alone, your feelings can be much better than before.
3. As a Means of Physical Exercise and Exercise
If you don’t like to exercise, by gardening at least once a week, you can exercise without having to do difficult moves that you don’t like! This is because gardening makes your physique active and trained in strength.
When gardening you will do many things, ranging from dredging the soil to filling pots, moving pots that have been planted, and others. This activity will certainly make you use a lot of muscle and sweat. The seniors can also gain the benefits of being outdoors at the same time.
4. Maintaining Brain Health
A study reveals that gardening is able to maintain brain health because this activity will make the mind busy and focused, while opening up opportunities for social interaction with people outside the home.
The physical demands of gardening and critical thinking skills about what to plant and how to care for it reduce the chances of older people suffering from memory diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
To maximize this benefit, seniors can also have the benefits of games for seniors, which can also reduce their stress significantly.
5. Makes You Accustomed to Eating Healthy Foods
If you choose to grow vegetables or fruits while gardening, it is likely that you and your family will automatically be more motivated to eat healthy foods that grow in your home.
How could you not? To grow and care for it alone takes a long time. When it’s harvest time, you and your family will be more enthusiastic to feel the results. In addition, the harvest you get will be much cleaner and pesticide-free, so it is healthier.
6. Train to be Independent
Elderly people will begin to experience limitations in doing their daily activities. Often they begin to rely on one of the family members at home. They will be trained to be independent in doing things without the need for the help of others according to their abilities.