Banish those unwanted feelings by heading outside! The third Monday of January is regarded as one of the most depressing days of the year – known as ‘Blue Monday’. Days are cold, dark, and often wet, yet the twinkling lights of Christmas have gone away – leaving many feeling down. We believe one of the best ways to tackle these feelings and boost our collective mood is to pull on the gardening gloves and get outside.
Besides boosting your mood, gardening provides us with so much joy, from rewarding outcomes and a sense of accomplishment, to hours upon hours surrounded by the beauty of nature – what’s not to love?
How Gardening Helps To Boost Your Mood
The sun does absolute wonders for our mood, even for only a short period of time. At this time of year, you can be excused for preferring a comfortable spot in front of the fire!
But, just spending an hour or two in the garden each day boosts your vitamin D levels. According to many studies, this can have an incredibly positive impact on mood.
While you are spending time in your garden, you may as well tick off a few tasks…
Plant bare root roses or shrubs, prune back fruit trees, tidy up decaying plants, crack any ice freezing across birdbaths… You are sure to find something to occupy your time in the garden at this time of the year.
What’s more, physical activities like these help to clock up exercise hours and smash that New Year’s fitness resolution. Exercising is another well-documented solution for lifting our mood. Putting in these hours now will help your garden to look even more remarkable when the garden-entertaining spring and summer months roll around.
Feel A Sense Of Accomplishment From Gardening
Browse your garden’s plants, with a cup of tea in hand, and feel a warm sense of accomplishment! Taking care of plants and watching them thrive is a delightful feeling that is tricky to explain before you experience it for the first time – why not give it a go?
However, your garden is not just about endless jobs and chores… It is a space for you to sit, unwind, and feel closer with nature.
NHS England recommend spending more time surrounded by nature, thanks to the incredible impact it can have on improving mental health and reducing the feeling of loneliness, promoting a peaceful sense of well-being.
Remember – gardening can be a very sociable activity if you want it to be.
Community gardens are popping up in your local neighbourhood every year, unlocking a whole host of people to talk to – us gardeners adore talking all things green after all!
Even in your own garden, you can strike up a conversation with your green-fingered neighbours just a fence panel away.
So, if you’re feeling down, why not put on your gardening gloves and head outside to boost your mood? You might be surprised at how much better you feel for it!
