The IAA One Minute Blog

When people think of gardening they tend to think of a relaxing activity. That relaxing activity may help gardeners more than they realize.

The Benefits to Being a Gardener

Many gardeners view their hobby as the perfect antidote to the modern world. Yet there are so many more benefits to gardening:

• Better mental health: The effortless attention of gardening may help improve symptoms of depression.
• Brain health: The combination of physical and mental activity involved in gardening may have a positive influence on the mind. It may help to lower the risk of dementia.
• Exercise: Gardening gets you out in the fresh air and sunshine--and it also gets your blood moving. There are lots of different movements in gardening, so you get exercise benefits as well. Digging, planting, weeding, and other repetitive tasks that require strength or stretching are excellent forms of low-impact exercise. Attack these garden chores with the same vigor as weight lifting or swimming. You can burn 150 calories by gardening (standing) for approximately 30 to 45 minutes.
  
• Nutrition: The food you grow yourself is the freshest food you can eat.
• Stress relief: Humans have a finite capacity for the kind of directed attention required by cell phones, emails, etc. When that capacity gets used up, we tend to become irritable, error prone, distracted, and stressed out. Gardening can reverse this through "involuntary attention." The rhythms of the natural environment and the repetitive, soothing nature of many gardening tasks are all sources of effortless attention.
  

Gardening, no matter what kind, can be therapeutic. Vary your gardening activities to keep your interest and to broaden your range of benefits.

Safe Gardening Tips

While you may love spending time in your garden, it is important to be safe. Here are some tips to keep you safe and healthy:

1. Dress to protect: Gear up to protect yourself from lawn and garden pests, harmful chemicals, sharp or motorized equipment, and the sun's harmful rays:

• Wear gloves to lower your risk of skin irritations, cuts and certain contaminants.
  
• Protect yourself from diseases caused by mosquitoes and ticks. Use insect repellent containing DEET; wear long sleeved shirts, and pants tucked into your socks.
• Lower your risk of sunburn and skin cancer by wearing long sleeves, wide-brimmed hats, sun shades, and sunscreen.

2. Put safety first: Follow instructions and warning labels on chemicals and lawn and garden equipment.

3. Know your limits in the heat: Even being out for short periods of time in high temperatures can cause serious health problems:

• If you are outside in hot weather for most of the day, you'll need to make an effort to drink more fluids.
• Take breaks often. Try to rest in shaded areas so that your body's thermostat will have a chance to recover. Stop working if you experience breathlessness or muscle soreness.
• Pay attention to signs of heat related illness, including extremely high body temperature, headache, rapid pulse, dizziness, nausea, confusion or unconsciousness

After a period of hard work, stop and rest. Give yourself a chance to admire what you have accomplished.

What IAA has to Say

Insurance Administrator of America wants you to go outside and start working on your garden. IAA knows that there are numerous health benefits to gardening and wants you to stay in good health! Remember, with IAA one call does it all.

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