There is mounting evidence that exposure to plants and green space,
particularly gardening, is beneficial to mental and physical health, perhaps
reducing the strain on the National Health System (NHS, UK). As a result,
health professionals should urge their patients to use green space and work
in gardens, as well as press local governments to expand open spaces and
plant more trees, contributing to the reduction of air pollution and climate
change.
There is concern that the NHS may be unable to meet the health needs of a
growing and aging population today and in the future. It is also recognized
that, as transformative as pharmacological medications have been, they are
becoming increasingly expensive and are not necessarily as effective as
they appear in early, excitedly reported clinical trials. Drugs are also
prescribed that can cause side effects, which are a major cause of
hospitalization, especially among the elderly, who are underrepresented in
clinical trials.
Health is influenced by a variety of social, economic, and environmental
factors, as evidenced by the shocking variation in life expectancy across
the country. There are opportunities to treat some physical and mental
conditions with alternative or complementary therapies, as well as to
encourage lifestyle changes, in addition to improving the information given
to patients and health professionals on the true efficacy of drugs and their
risks, thereby empowering patients' choices.
Therapeutic gardens have been used in hospitals for thousands of years,
and Florence Nightingale was a great supporter of them; they improve the
environment for patients, visitors, and staff. Ulrich has emphasized their
stress-relieving properties, particularly if the spaces sustain biodiversity.
Horticultural treatment has been around for a long time. Garden
surroundings have been used for therapeutic purposes since ancient times.Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence known as
the "Father of American Psychiatry," was the first to establish the benefits
of gardening for people with mental illnesses in the nineteenth century.
Treatment for hospitalized war veterans greatly increased acceptability of
the approach in the 1940s and 1950s. Horticultural therapy practice
acquired credibility and was welcomed for a far broader spectrum of
diseases and treatment alternatives, no longer limited to treating mental
illness. Horticultural treatment is now widely recognized as a healthy and
effective therapeutic option. It has a wide range of applications in
rehabilitation, vocational, and community contexts.
Horticultural therapy approaches are used to help individuals learn new
abilities or reclaim skills that have been lost. Horticultural treatment aids in
the development of memory, cognition, task initiation, language skills, and
socializing. Horticultural therapy can strengthen muscles and enhance
coordination, balance, and endurance during physical rehabilitation. People
learn to work independently, solve problems, and follow orders in vocational
horticultural treatment settings.
Horticultural therapists are specialists in the therapeutic and rehabilitation
use of plants.
Allow nature to be your stress reliever. When you're under a lot of stress,
get back to the basics. People who participate in HT take up the role of
caregiver. People gain a greater sense of duty and purpose by tending to a
garden. Gardening improves motor abilities, and being outdoors has a
calming effect on the psyche. According to research, this is because being
outside exposes you to more sun, and thus vitamin D.
The advantages? People might boost their self-esteem by taking on the
role of caregiver. This is especially important for those who are depressed
or have scars from past experience, such as harsh bullying or abuse.
Because HT promotes social contact and the development of new
interests, it has been implemented in some jail programs. One study looked
into whether or not HT could help people recover from cardiac attacks.
“Horticultural treatment improves mood state, suggesting that it may be avaluable technique in stress reduction. As a result, this data supports the
significance of horticulture therapy as a useful component of cardiac
rehabilitation to the extent that stress contributes to coronary heart
disease.”
What are some ways to de-stress at home?
To become a horticulture therapist, one might enroll in specific courses. You
don't have to be a certified professional to de-stress in your own backyard,
though. Begin on a bright and sunny day. To begin, remove any leaves from
your patio or other concrete areas. Picking up stray leaves makes your
yard appear more organized. Why not visit your local gardening center if
your property needs some freshening up? The team can help you decide
which plants and flowers will thrive in your garden. You could even dig a
vegetable patch if your garden is flat and gets enough sunlight. Growing
your own fruit is both incredibly fulfilling and cost-effective. Horticultural
treatment is a well-known and effective approach. As a result, there's even
more reason to spend more time in your garden!
Please give this video a thumbs up and let us know what we should
highlight next in the comments section before we go on to the
impacts and advantages of Horticultural Therapy.
According to research published online in the British Journal of Sports
Medicine, doing some DIY or gardening can reduce the chance of a heart
attack or stroke and extend life by up to 30% in people aged 60 and up.
According to the researchers, these habitual activities are just as healthy as
exercise, which is perfect for elderly adults who don't get enough formal
exercise. They based their findings on about 4000 sixty-year-olds in
Stockholm, Sweden, who were followed for around 12.5 years to assess
their cardiovascular health.
Participants were given a health check at the outset of the trial, which
included questions about their lifestyle, such as food, smoking, and alcohol
consumption, as well as how physically active they were. They were asked
how often they had included gardening, DIY, auto repair, and blackberrypicking in their daily lives over the previous 12 months, as well as if they
had engaged in any organized exercise.
Lab testing and physical examinations were used to measure their
cardiovascular health, including blood fats, blood sugars, and blood clotting
factors, all of which have been associated with an increased risk of heart
attack and stroke.
Those with a typically active daily life, regardless of how much formal
exercise they did, had a considerably reduced risk profile for cardiovascular
issues at the start of the trial than those with low levels of daily activity.
Smaller waists, lower levels of potentially hazardous blood lipids, and lower
glucose, insulin, and clotting factor levels in men were all part of this profile.
The same was true for those who engaged in a lot of formal exercise but
were not physically active on a regular basis. Those who exercised on a
regular basis and were physically active on a regular basis had the lowest
risk profile of all. 476 of the participants experienced their first heart attack
during the 12.5-year study, and 383 died from other reasons. When
compared to the lowest level of daily physical activity, the highest level was
related with a 27 percent lower risk of a heart attack or stroke and a 30
percent lower risk of mortality from all causes, regardless of how much
regular formal exercise was taken in addition.
"Our findings are especially important for older adults because, in
comparison to other age groups, they spend a relatively greater proportion
of their active day performing [routine activities] because they frequently
find it difficult to achieve recommended exercise intensity levels," the
authors write. They speculate that the scientific underpinnings for their
findings could be found in energy expenditure: prolonged sitting reduces
metabolic rate to a bare minimum, whereas standing and physical exercise
raise it.
Muscle contractions may also reveal some information. Because sitting
does not take any physical activity, it might alter the skeletal muscle's
normal hormone synthesis, thereby causing harm to other organs and
tissues.
Gardening has existed for as long as humans have been able to cultivate
food. Gardens have long been used not only as locations to raise plants,
but also as places for people to relax, concentrate, and interact with nature
and one another. Gardening can now deliver a variety of mental health
benefits in your everyday life such as:
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