[5/11] Sat, The Health Benefits of Gardening

[Marco(지호)]

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/health-lifestyle-benefits-of-gardening/4334096.html

As spring comes to half the world, many people can enjoy the new growth that comes with warmer weather. This is a great time to get outside and get dirty!

Gardening is popular in many parts of the world. This outdoor activity gives us beautiful plants, pleasant smelling flowers and fresh fruits and vegetables.

But it also gives us many health benefits.

Reduces loneliness

Gardening connects people. When you are gardening, you are outdoors. So it is a perfect time to socialize with your neighbors.

In this 2014 photo, this urban gardener picks herbs from her garden patch at a community garden in Omaha, Nebraska.

Most people love to talk about their hobbies, and gardeners are no different. They usually enjoy showing people what they are growing. And most enjoy sharing advice and stories about their gardens almost as much as sharing herbs, flowers and vegetables from their gardens.

Gardening can greatly widen a person’s community.

Some people may not have the resources to have their own garden. So, many cities and towns have community gardens. You can either volunteer or just visit to learn more.

Check what resources are available to you in your area. If there are no community gardens near you, there may be government money available to help you start one.

Healthy activity for children

Gardening is a great activity to do with children. It gets families outdoors and off computers, televisions and other electronics.

Gardening can be a great teacher.

Children can learn about nature and wildlife. Gardening can teach a child about where food comes from and healthy eating. It can also help them to understand the limits of natural resources and the importance of using them carefully.

Young members of the Crow Creek community showing the fruits of their gardening labors. Photo courtesy of the Crow Creek Fresh Food Initiative

Vitamin D

When you are in your garden, you might feel the sunshine on your skin. This means you are getting Vitamin D.

Vitamin D helps our bodies use calcium. That is necessary to keep bones strong. Vitamin D also helps us fight diseases.

Exercise

Also, when you garden you must move around. All the different movements needed for gardening -- bending, twisting, stretching and lifting -- work small muscles in the body.

And you can easily get a good work out when you are digging holes or pulling weeds.

First Lady Melania Trump gardens with children at an event in the White House Kitchen Garden, 2017.

Stress

Gardening may also help you to feel calm and happy.

A study by researchers in the Netherlands found that gardening may reduce the stress hormone cortisol in the brain.

Scientists say that high levels of cortisol in the body interfere with learning and memory. It can also increase a person’s weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Chronic, high levels of cortisol increase the risk for depression, mental illness and lower life expectancy.

In the study, the researchers gave 30 gardeners a difficult, stressful task. After completing the task, researchers measured their cortisol levels. The gardeners self-reported on their mood, or how they felt emotionally.

Then the gardeners were asked to recover by either gardening outdoors or reading indoors for 30 minutes.

Both activities led to lower cortisol levels. However, the decreases were stronger in the gardening group. Also, those who gardened reported that their good moods returned fully. The readers found that their bad moods only got worse.

Dementia and brain health

Gardening may help your brain stay young.

In another study in 2006dementia by 36 percent.

Gardening uses many repeated actions, such as weeding or dead-heading (removing dying flowers from a plant). These actions have a calming effect on the brain. The brain is still active but not in the same way that it is, say, when we use computers.

In our technology-filled lives, gardening offers a chance to unplug. You cannot hold a phone or other electronic devices when your hands are filled with dirt.

Gardening can also give you the feeling that you have done something good.

A flower and herb garden can help feed bees and butterflies. Growing herbs and flowers, even in a of couple of pots at your city home, connects you to nature and pleases all of your senses.

What you grow in a garden usually looks, smells, feels and tastes really good.

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.

Q1. How does a person get Vitamin D while gardening ?

Q2. What impact might high levels of conttisol have on a person's health ?

Q3. What are your thoughts on the many health benefits of gardening ?

Q4. Do you enjoy gardening? if so , What do you like most about it? if not, why not?

Q5. Do you have any hobbies that you believe are good for your health ? 

[Andy Park]

Marco, thanks for making questions to study group!

[Marco(지호)]

Andy, Welcom

[Alicia.J]

Thank you for this matrial...It's good. We couldn't cover this due to the lack of time, though. ㅠ.ㅠ

[Marco(지호)]

Alicia, OMG, Anyway Thank a lot ^^