Keeping a garden is a little pleasure that so many people have engaged in for centuries. Whether that garden was full of flowers, loaded with herbs, specifically for food or some mix of these things, gardens have been a favorite of humans, modern and ancient.
Gardening has been proven to have a lot of material benefits, as well as social ones, but it also provides a great number of physical benefits to gardeners of all ages. Here are a few that will have you reaching for your shovel and rake.

1. Gardening Is Great Exercise

Although puttering around with plants might not seem like a lot of work, you’re really doing some heavy lifting when you squat, dig, bend, till, mulch and generally spend time with your garden.

2. Gardening Provides Anti-Inflammatory Effects

According to research from University of Colorado at Boulder, spending time in the garden can help reduce inflammation throughout your body. In lab tests, exposure has been shown to produce long-lasting anti-inflammatory effects on the brain and other parts of the body.

3. Sun Exposure Increases Vitamin D Production

As you may know, exposure to the sun can help increase vitamin D production, and gardening provides ample opportunity for spending time in the sun.
It also helps with bone development in children, helping to prevent rickets, as well as strengthening bones in older adults.

4. Being Outdoors Helps Increase Serotonin Production

Serotonin is known to be important in generating positive moods and calm mental outlooks, but according to the National Library of Medicine, it can also help you sleep better. When you spend time in the garden, the serotonin you’re making from all that glorious sunlight goes into a serotonin-melatonin production cycle, where it’s eventually converted into melatonin to help you sleep better.