Urban gardening can enhance your mood!
What's the story
As it turns out, urban gardening is the new thing to keep your mental well-being in check.
From balconies, rooftops to small community plots, urban gardening can be practiced anywhere. Apart from fresh produce, it also has therapeutic benefits.
Being in touch with nature can keep stress and anxiety levels at bay. It makes for an ideal mood enhancer for city-dwellers.
Here are five ways urban gardening can boost your mood.
Nature connection
Connect with nature
Urban gardening also enables people to connect with nature despite being surrounded by concrete jungles.
Simply being in the vicinity of plants and greenery has been proven to reduce stress and promote relaxation.
This bond allows people to feel more connected, grounded, and at peace, offering them a natural respite from the craziness of city life.
Physical activity
Physical activity boosts mood
From digging to planting and watering, gardening entails a lot of physical activity, which helps in keeping you fit.
Regular physical activity releases endorphins that elevate mood and lessen feelings of depression or anxiety.
Even light gardening tasks can offer sufficient exercise to boost your mental health.
Accomplishment
Sense of accomplishment
Though tending to a garden requires patience and effort, the results are extremely rewarding over time.
There's nothing quite like watching plants grow from seeds into flourishing greenery.
It gives you a sense of accomplishment that boosts self-esteem.
The feeling of achievement contributes positively to your mood by giving you a sense of purpose.
Social interaction
Social interaction opportunities
Urban gardening largely includes community gardens, where people come together for a common goal.
These spaces provide several opportunities for socializing, connecting with people who share your interests.
Participating in such community spaces encourages the growth of relationships in the community.
This socializing can really lift one's mood, as it gives a sense of belonging and improves social well-being overall.
Mindfulness practice
Mindfulness practice through gardening
Gardening promotes mindfulness by forcing us to pay attention to the present moment as we tend to plants carefully, without getting distracted by technology or the day's worries around us today.
Being mindful while doing this activity calms our racing thoughts, paving way for better emotional regulation, eventually boosting our overall happiness levels considerably over time.