Gardening Regularly Improves Mental and Physical Well-Being, RHS Study Finds | UK News

Gardening can improve well-being and have the same positive impact as vigorous exercise like cycling or running, new research suggests.

People who garden every day have 6.6% higher wellness scores and 4.2% lower stress levels than those who don’t garden at all, according to a new study.

Gardening just two to three times a week also leads to better well-being and lower stress levels, according to the document.

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) wellness researcher and lead author Dr Lauriane Chalmin-Pui said: “This is the first time the ‘dose-response’ in gardening has been tested and the evidence suggests overwhelmingly, the more frequently you garden, the better the health benefits.

“In fact, daily gardening has the same positive impact on well-being as regular, vigorous exercise like cycling or running.

“When gardening, our brains are pleasantly distracted by the nature around us.”

She added, “It takes our attention away from ourselves and our stress, thereby restoring our spirits and reducing negative feelings.”

According to the study published in the journal Cities, regular gardening – at least two to three times a week – had the greatest perceived health benefits.

The prospect of improving health was not the primary motivator for gardening – but rather the direct pleasure gardening provided to study participants.

Conducted by the RHS in collaboration with the University of Sheffield and the University of Virginia, the study also found that gardening was linked to greater physical activity, supporting the idea that gardening is good for the body and the mind.

Dr Chalmin-Pui added, “Gardening is like effortless exercise because it doesn’t seem as strenuous as going to the gym, for example, but we can expend similar amounts of energy.

“Most…