What an Hour of Gardening Does to Your Body

You know how it's illogical that people take escalators and elevators and then go to the gym to use the stair machine? The same could be said for people who go to the supermarket for produce and go to the gym to workout. Why not just combine the two and do some work in the garden? Gardening benefits the planet and can do remarkable things for one's health.

As anyone who has spent time gardening knows, it takes some effort. Even though we have been known to promote "lazivore" no-dig gardening and usually advocate for not raking the leaves, there is still plenty of activity to be had and plenty of benefits gleaned from gardening.

What 2.5 Hours of Gardening a Week Can Do

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), moderate-intensity level activity for 2.5 hours each week can reduce the risk for obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke, depression, colon cancer, and premature death.

The CDC considers gardening a moderate-intensity level activity—meaning that gardening goes toward that 2.5-hour goal. Furthermore, people who garden for moderate-intensity exercise are more likely to exercise 40 to 50 minutes longer on average than those who choose activities like walking or biking.

An Hour’s Worth of Gardening

If you are someone who pays attention to calories, here's how many you can expect to burn per hour. (Note that this is an average and will vary slightly based on age, weight, etc.)

• Heavy landscaping: 400-600 calories per hour
• Raking the leaves: 350-450 calories per hour
• Clearing the garden: 400 calories per hour
• Mowing the lawn: 250-350 calories per hour
• Weeding: 200-400 calories per hour
• Planting flowers: 200-400 calories per hour
• Watering: 120 calories per hour

 Other Benefits of Gardening

Horticultural therapy—the practice of using gardens, plants, and horticultural activity to relieve physical and mental symptoms—is fully backed by science. Among numerous studies examining the health benefits of gardening, here are just a few.

Decreased Dementia Risk 

One 2006 study from St. Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst, Australia, set out to identify risk factors for dementia in an elderly Australian cohort. The researchers tracked more than 2,800 people over the age of 60 for 16 years and found that physical activity, particularly gardening, could reduce the incidence of dementia. Specifically, they concluded that gardening could lower the risk of dementia by 36 percent.

Stress Relief

A Dutch study published in the Journal of Health Psychology found that gardening and reading each decreased cortisol after a stressful task, but decreases were significantly stronger in the gardening group. Additionally, the reported positive mood was fully restored after gardening but further deteriorated during reading.

A Wide Range of Health Outcomes

A 2017 meta-analysis "provided robust evidence for the positive effects of gardening on health," according to its authors. Overall, the results suggest that participating in gardening activities has a significant positive impact on health. As the authors concluded: "The positive association with gardening was observed for a wide range of health outcomes, such as reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms, stress, mood disturbance, and BMI, as well as increases in quality of life, sense of community, physical activity levels, and cognitive function."

Money Savings & Sustainability Perks

And lest we forget the other perks of working in the dirt as well, including:

• Saving money on produce
• Saving money on a gym membership
• Conserving resources used in going to the gym
• Saving resources used for producing, packaging, and shipping commercial produce
• Ensuring your supply and increasing your intake of inexpensive organic fruit and vegetables
• Providing habitat for wildlife and especially pollinators

Of course, this is all provided you have a bit of earth to call your own. If not, consider joining a community garden or volunteering at a park or public clean up ... no gym membership is required.