Sep 5th 2021

Five ways to use your garden to support your wellbeing

Emma White Research Fellow in Environmental Psychology, University of Surrey

Sarah Golding Research Fellow in Health Psychology, University of Surrey

Emma White and Sarah Golding are currently researching the role that nature has played for people during the pandemic. This project is funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council.

COVID-19 has shown that pandemics can seriously affect people’s physical and mental health. Stress, anxiety and depression have increased around the world, with the greatest effects for those living under the strictest lockdowns. Many people’s physical activity levels also fell during lockdown. Gardens, though, can help us push back against these negative effects.

Before the pandemic, having a garden was associated with better health and wellbeing, and this pattern has continued during COVID-19. In our own research on garden use during the UK’s first lockdown – published as a working paper this summer – we found that more frequent garden visits were associated with better wellbeing. Other work has also found that gardens have helped reduce mental distress during the pandemic.

With that in mind, here are five ways of using your garden that research suggests can improve your mental health. If you have access to an outdoor space and have been finding things difficult, you could try these out to boost your mood.

And if you’re feeling good now, you could use this chance to get ahead. Just as world leaders are being urged to prepare for the next pandemic, you can prepare your garden and develop habits now to better support your wellbeing in the future should there be another lockdown.

1. Do something (anything!)

People who garden every day are more physically active – and even those with a balcony, yard or patio are more likely to be active than those with no garden. Being more active is associated with better physical and mental health, including reduced risks of cancer, heart disease and depression.

You don’t have to be a gardener to get active in your garden (although we think you should give it a go). Gardens are great places to be creative and provide lots of opportunities to get moving. Play hide and seek, do yoga on the lawn, build a bug hotel for insects to live in – anything you like!

And remember, if there’s another lockdown, being physically active in your garden can make up for lost opportunities to be active in other parts of your life.

2. Do nothing

Gardens help restore the ability to concentrate on demanding tasks, providing the perfect space for a break when working from home in a pandemic. Natural things – such as trees, plants and water – are particularly easy on the eye and demand little mental effort to look at. Simply sitting in a garden is therefore relaxing and beneficial to mental wellbeing.

To get your garden ready for break time, create a space in which to unwind. Surround yourself with soothing things, such as flowers.

Garden seating also seems to be key. People in our research told us they enjoyed relaxing in hammocks, chairs and benches. So, make time to sit and watch the clouds, or relax with a book and a cup of tea. And don’t feel guilty about it – taking a break is important for avoiding psychological fatigue.

3. Be alone

Gardens are places to escape the anxieties and demands of the world around us. They are particularly restorative because they are places where we can get away from our day-to-day life. In our research, some people talked about needing space from other household members and got this by hiding in the garden shed. Others hid away in the bathroom or bedroom.

Should there be another lockdown, remember that the garden is a good space to get away from work and other people. Perhaps create a hidden nook in your garden that you can hide out in for a few minutes. You’ll most likely return to work and life feeling refreshed and more productive.

4. Be social

Research also highlights the value of spending time with others outdoors. There are lots of ways to use your garden for socialising and building relationships. You could play a game outside, have a barbeque, chat to a neighbour over the fence, or invite a friend to drink hot chocolate in the snow (the Norwegians can teach us much about enjoying the outdoors during winter).

5. Go natural

Nature offers numerous benefits to mental and physical health. Being in the presence of greater biodiversity is linked to feeling of being restored, as is listening to birdsong and the sounds of water. Having more natural elements in gardens – such as scented flowers, insects and natural materials like stone – increases wellbeing.

Bringing nature into whatever garden space you have is therefore a good idea. Flowers are particularly desirable, with the added benefit that they support pollinators. You could also create a pond or get a birdfeeder.

Of course, not everyone has a garden. But even if you don’t have outdoor space of your own, you can still follow some of these tips. Indoor plants can be used to create a more “natural” environment and have been shown to improve mood.

Green exercise – such as cycling, walking or running in woodland or countryside – can boost mood and self-esteem. Walking alone in a park has also been shown to be revitalising.

If you want to spend more social time outdoors, you could help at an allotment or community garden, as these are often highly social pursuits that involve working together outside. And if you want to do nothing at all, you could find a small local park to just sit and relax in.

Emma White, Research Fellow in Environmental Psychology, University of Surrey and Sarah Golding, Research Fellow in Health Psychology, University of Surrey

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

More Essays

Improving Art History

by David Galenson

Jul 26th 2023

EXTRACT: "Art historians have never understood economics, and as a result they believe they can ignore markets: in their view, the production of art can be treated in isolation from its sale. This is of course disastrously wrong. But their ignorance has led to a neglect of the economic history of art. "

Insatiably Seeking Status

by R. James Breiding

Jul 13th 2023

EXTRACT: ".....art purchases and prices have plateaued. The prevailing mood at this year’s Art Basel was one of anxiety, as dealers roamed the halls searching for answers. Some speculate that the state of the art market indicates declining confidence among the world’s richest people. When the economy is booming, collectors are more inclined to invest in art and take on leverage, especially when borrowing costs are low. But these dynamics can shift quickly during downturns. The 2008 crisis, for example, caused art prices to fall by 60%."

People with Parkinson’s may benefit from cardio, weight training and yoga – here’s what you need to know

by Aideen Sullivan and Lucy Collins-Stack

Jul 13th 2023

EXTRACT: "But even if you’re having trouble motivating yourself to exercise, many types of physical activity may be helpful as long as you do them regularly. For example, walking, gardening and household chores (such as cooking, hoovering and dusting) may prevent symptoms worsening and improve quality of life. And, these activities may be easier to incorporate into your daily routine than a gym workout."

Why there are fewer insects on UK farms than there were a century ago – and how to restore them

by Simon Potts, Michael Garratt and Tom Breeze

Jul 12th 2023

EXTRACTS: "Insect populations are declining worldwide at a rate of almost 1% per year. This decline is alarming. Insects play a crucial role in pollinating crops, controlling crop pests and maintaining soil fertility. In the UK alone, pollination provided by bees and other insects adds over £600 million to crop production every year. That’s about 10% of the country’s total annual crop value. Through pollination, insects also make sure that fruit and vegetables are packed full of the vitamins and minerals needed for healthy human diets. Insufficient pollination would result in lower-quality foods, less choice and higher food prices." .... "Just like fertiliser and water, these insects should be considered a legitimate agricultural input that needs to be protected and managed sustainably."

Should Rammstein Be Banned?

by Ian Buruma

Jul 6th 2023

EXTRACT: "But whatever the truth may turn out to be, the Lindemann affair raises a question that has been hotly debated over the past few years, especially in the United States, but more and more in Europe, too: must art be judged by the private behavior of its creator? It has become fairly common for critics to denounce Pablo Picasso’s paintings because he made women in his life suffer. A well-known movie critic declared that he could no longer view Woody Allen’s films in the same way after the director was accused, without any evidence, of abusing his seven-year-old adoptive daughter. Roman Polanski’s movies are no longer distributed in the US, because he drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl in 1977."

How the ancient Greeks kept ruthless narcissists from capturing their democracy – and what modern politics could learn from them

by Steve Taylor

Jun 25th 2023

EXTRACT: "There’s a great deal of research showing that people with negative personality traits, such as narcissism, ruthlessness, amorality or a lack of empathy and conscience, are attracted to high-status roles, including politics. In a representative democracy, therefore, the people who put themselves forward as representatives include a sizeable proportion of people with disordered personalities – people who crave power because of their malevolent traits. And the most disordered and malevolent personalities –the most ruthless and amoral – tend to rise to the highest positions in any political party, and in any government. This is the phenomenon of “pathocracy”, which I discuss at length in my new book DisConnected."

Flavanols are linked to better memory and heart health – here’s what foods you can eat to get these benefits

by Gunter Kuhnle

Jun 11th 2023

EXTRACT: "Although there’s still much we don’t know about flavanols – such as why they have the effect they do on so many aspects of our health – it’s clear from the research we do have that they are very likely beneficial to both memory and heart health."

What Makes the French so Different?

by Michael Johnson

May 4th 2023

EXTRACT: "My recent book on them 25 Unforgettable French Faces covers a wide range of individuals, from an aging Brigitte Bardot to architect Gustave Eiffel. Both of them changed the face of France. In the upcoming sequel, 25 More Unforgettable French Faces, I have completed my collection of 50 examples. The new book, now in progress, ranges from The Bad Boy of the 18th Century (Voltaire) to A Man of Principle (Jean-Paul Sartre) and Big Dark Eyes, (the actress Audrey Tautou)."

Perovskite: new type of solar technology paves the way for abundant, cheap and printable cells

by David Beynon

May 4th 2023

EXTRACT: "Silicon solar cells are an established technology for the generation of electricity from the sun. But they take a lot of energy to produce, are rigid and can be fragile. However, a new class of solar cell is matching their performance. And what’s more, it can now be printed out using special inks and wrapped flexibly around uneven surfaces."

How the brain stops us learning from our mistakes – and what to do about it

by Pragya Agarwal

Apr 21st 2023

EXTRACT: "You learn from your mistakes. At least, most of us have been told so. But science shows that we often fail to learn from past errors. Instead, we are likely to keep repeating the same mistakes." .... "Sometimes we stick with certain behaviour patterns, and repeat our mistakes because of an “ego effect” that compels us to stick with our existing beliefs. We are likely to selectively choose the information structures and feedback that help us protect our egos." ..... "....there are simpler things we can do. One is to become more comfortable with making mistakes. We might think that this is the wrong attitude towards failures, but it is in fact a more positive way forward."

Freeing America from the Quagmire of Inequality

by Sam Ben-Meir

Mar 17th 2023

EXTRACTS: "The intensifying concentration of wealth, and unjustifiable level of income inequality is proving disastrous in many ways. Here are just a few of them. First, less equal societies typically have more unstable economies, and this country is no exception." --- "Second, there is an incontrovertible link between economic inequality and violent crime. The fact is that rates of violence are higher in more unequal societies." --- "Third, the undeniable fact is that the greater the economic inequality that exists, the worse it is for general health outcomes. What is sometimes overlooked is that income inequality is bad for health outcomes across economic strata, not just for those in poverty. To be sure, poor health and poverty are closely linked; but the epidemiological research shows that high levels of economic inequality “negatively affect the health of even the affluent, mainly because… inequality reduces social cohesion, a dynamic that leads to more stress, fear, and insecurity for everyone.” People live longer in countries with lower levels of inequality, as the World Bank reports. In the United States, for example, “average life expectancy is four years shorter than in some of the most equitable countries.” "

Four common misconceptions about quantum physics

by Alessandro Fedrizzi and Mehul Malik

Mar 10th 2023

EDITOR: "Quantum mechanics, the theory which rules the microworld of atoms and particles, certainly has the X factor. Unlike many other areas of physics, it is bizarre and counter-intuitive, which makes it dazzling and intriguing. When the 2022 Nobel prize in physics was awarded to Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger for research shedding light on quantum mechanics, it sparked excitement and discussion. But debates about quantum mechanics – be they on chat forums, in the media or in science fiction – can often get muddled thanks to a number of persistent myths and misconceptions. Here are four."

Ecology as New Enlightenment

by Corine Pelluchon

Mar 7th 2023

EXTRACT: "....the destructive logic of the false dualism of man and nature continues to threaten our civilization. The new Enlightenment would overcome this dualistic perspective, by bringing about a deep reconsideration of our moral duties to animals and future generations, and transforming how we inhabit the Earth. Instead of thinking of ourselves as separate from nature, we must recognize that we are embedded in it, and that even our most mundane actions have far-reaching consequences."

A Farewell to Russia

by Anastasia Edel

Feb 28th 2023

EXTRACT: " It has now been a year since Russia, my birthplace, invaded Ukraine. For 365 days, we have been waking up to news of Russian missile strikes, bombings, murders, torture, and rape. It has been 365 days of shame and confusion, of wanting to turn away but needing to know what is happening, of watching Russians become “ruscists,” “Orks,” or “putinoids.” For 365 days, the designation “Russian-American,” previously straightforward, has felt like a contradiction in terms. For those in my situation, some methods of adapting to the new circumstances have come easier than others. Russian books still crowd my bookcase, but I no longer have any wish to re-read them. Chekhov and Nabokov cannot be blamed for the aggression against Ukraine, but it nonetheless has stolen their magic and their capacity to teach. These authors were my friends, as were the old-country rituals like Russian Easter vigils and New Year’s screenings of the Soviet classic Irony of Fate. I feel the loss acutely, but perhaps it is for the better. It helps me concentrate on the present."

How my selective horrors spice up the ‘French type’

by Michael Johnson

Feb 18th 2023

EXTRACTS: "Like the United States, France has gained strength through immigration, a fact often overlooked by opponents of open borders. Science, industry and the arts have clearly benefitted. And I found the local color in the population to be a rich source for artwork."

Insects are vanishing worldwide – now it’s making it harder to grow food

by Stuart Reynolds

Feb 17th 2023

EXTRACT: "Insects are by far the most numerous of all animals on Earth. The estimated global total of new insect material that grows each year is an astonishing 1,500 million tonnes. Most of this is immediately consumed by an upward food chain of predators and parasites, so that the towering superstructure of all the Earth’s animal diversity is built on a foundation of insects and their arthropod relatives. ---- If insects decline, then other wild animals must inevitably decline too."

Self-Portrait of an Experimental Songwrite

by David W. Galenson

Feb 14th 2023

EXTRACT: "When Bob Dylan and the Beatles were creating a conceptual revolution in popular music, producing works that were highly personal, obscure, and often incomprehensible to listeners, Bacharach was the greatest composer who continued the experimental tradition of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and the other giants of the Golden Age."

Light and Obliquity: Edward Hopper at the Whitney Museum

by Sam Ben-Meir

Feb 7th 2023

EXTRACT: "Many of Hopper’s most famous works – Nighthawks (1942), for example (not in the exhibition) – have become so ubiquitous that we are in danger of no longer being able to see them. The corrective for this over-exposure is to engage with the artist’s less familiar work; that is, to come to the artist through another portal – obliquely, if you will – and thereby trace a new path into the world that his oeuvre represents. Hopper observed, “I think I’m not very human, I didn’t want to paint people posturing and grimacing. What I wanted to do was to paint sunlight on the side of a house.” It is as telling a description as any of Hopper’s painterly fascination with New York City."

From Frank Lloyd Wright to Edwin Lutyens, why do unbuilt buildings continue to fascinate us?

by Nick Webb

Feb 3rd 2023

EXTRACT: "The built environment we inhabit is just the residue of a much greater imaginative world that never saw the light of day, evoking what might have been or still could be..."

Are the Clintons actually writing their novels? An expert uses ‘stylometry’ to analyse Hillary and Bill’s writing

by James O'Sullivan

Jan 18th 2023

EXTRACT: "In 2018, former US president Bill Clinton coauthored a novel with James Patterson, the world’s bestselling author. The President is Missing is a typical “Patterson”: a page-turner of a thriller, easy to read, with short chapters and large font. Patterson is accustomed to collaborative writing ..... He is as much a producer as he is a writer, using a string of junior collaborators to run his factory of novels. Patterson outlines the plot, the coauthors write the story, Patterson offers feedback. While he doesn’t seem to do much writing himself, it is a system that has made Patterson a rich man."