Why Is Gardening Good For Seniors?

By Author: Barbara Knox
Total Articles: 13
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A beautiful garden filled with colourful blooms is not only pleasing to the eyes, rather it can also have a positive impact on your health. Whether you are an ardent fan of gardening or not, yet the goodness it brings along cannot be ignored. Many research studies have shown that gardening helps fight against depression, social anxiety, dementia and above all brings down feelings of loneliness. Keep reading to know about the amazing benefits of gardening for seniors and why retirement villages Sydney are making gardening an important part of their lifestyle programs.

- Improves Immunity – Research studies have stated that the Mycobacterium vaccae, which is present in the garden soil, can improve your immune system. This pleasant bacterium has the ability to alleviate symptoms associated with asthma, psoriasis, allergies and depression. So, don’t worry about getting dirty working at the garden, it might actually benefit you.

- Alleviates Stress and Anxiety – Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone is essential for maintaining the body functions. But, it must be situated in a balanced manner. When there ...
... is too much of cortisol, your glucose levels and the blood pressure might fluctuate. The Journal of Health Psychology testifies that the cortisol levels in the brain can be reduced with the help of gardening.

- Reduces Risk of Dementia – Gardening involves various activities which require sensory awareness and dexterity. Studies have proved that gardening lowers the risk of dementia by 36%. Spending even a short amount of time in the garden regularly, can improve the motor skills in the elderly. This is also one of the reasons why most luxury retirement homes implement gardening as part of their activities. Care givers of reputed retirement homes usually help the elderly in the heavy gardening process like maintaining the yard – lawn mowing and gutters.

- Exercise – Though gardening might not seem to be strenuous, it takes the same effort as that of swimming or riding a bike. It offers enough exercise for your heart. Do you know, even light exercise procedures can bring down the aging process.

- Builds Self-esteem – You were looking out for retirement homes for sale to maintain your self-esteem and to live independently. Actually gardening can help you with maintaining your self-esteem. When you till, plant, nurture and harvest, you will obviously see a slight change in your personality. Yes, especially when your garden blooms, it feels good to enjoy the results of your efforts.

- Gives You Hope For The Future – How? When you plant a seed and water it each day with a faith that it will bloom, it helps carry the same hope and faith into the everyday life and boost the confidence levels.

UPA was founded in Grafton NSW, during a turbulent period of Australia’s history. Still a young nation, in 1938 Australia was recovering from the Great Depression and was also suffering the aftershocks of a massive loss of life caused by WWI. It was within such a setting that the Founder of UPA, Thomas Agst developed his notion of ‘practical Christianity’, providing functional assistance to those who needed it, beginning with children in need that he and his wife, Rosetta cared for.